Eli Lilly to sell weight-loss drug Mounjaro in Novo Nordisk's home market of Denmark

Eli Lilly said on Oct. 24 that it will begin selling its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in Denmark next week, taking on Novo Nordisk in the country where its biggest rival is based ^[1].

Mounjaro will cost about 2,200 Danish crowns per month, or roughly $318.50, a Lilly spokesperson told Reuters ^[1]. Wegovy's monthly price in Denmark runs from 1,313 crowns for a starter dose to 2,353 crowns for the maximum maintenance dose, according to the website of the Danish medicines agency ^[1].

Both Mounjaro and Wegovy are cleared for weight loss in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity ^[1]. Reuters describes the two drugmakers as the first to market with highly effective obesity treatments, a business that some analysts project could be worth $150 billion in annual global sales by the early 2030s ^[1].

Denmark has about 6 million residents, and roughly 19% of them have a body mass index of 30 or above ^[1]. Use of Wegovy there rose from around 60,000 people in January to 90,000 in August, matching 713,950 injection pens dispensed in the first eight months of the year, according to the Danish Health Data Authority ^[1].

Coverage is limited in Denmark. The public health care system does not generally reimburse weight-loss drugs, and the country's largest private insurer, which covers roughly half the population, stopped paying for such drugs in 2023 because of high demand ^[1].

Wegovy's global success made Novo Nordisk Europe's most valuable company and gave a lift to the Danish economy ^[1]. Mounjaro launched in Sweden and Finland the week before the Denmark announcement and will soon launch in Norway, the Lilly spokesperson said. It has also been introduced in the UK, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Germany ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For people in the United States taking or considering these drugs, the Denmark launch is mainly a signal about competition between the two makers of highly effective weight-loss medicines. Lilly is moving into Novo Nordisk's home territory, a step Reuters calls symbolic, at a time when analysts expect the global market to keep growing ^[1].

Competition can affect supply and pricing over time, but the report does not say what, if anything, the Denmark launch changes for U.S. availability or U.S. prices. No U.S. figures are given, and the $318.50 monthly price is a Danish price converted from 2,200 crowns, not a U.S. price ^[1].

The Denmark details also show that a drug being approved and sold is separate from whether insurance pays for it. Denmark's public system generally does not cover weight-loss drugs, and its largest private insurer stopped covering them in 2023 ^[1]. How that compares with any particular U.S. plan has not been reported.

Both drugs are indicated for use alongside a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity, so the launch does not change how either medicine is meant to be used ^[1].

What happens next

The Denmark launch is set for the week after the Oct. 24 announcement ^[1]. Mounjaro's Norway launch is expected soon, but the spokesperson did not give a date, and no date has been disclosed ^[1]. Lilly did not announce any change to U.S. sales or supplies, and the report contains no U.S. milestones ^[1].