Sarah Kennedy: Calocurb CEO on Wegovy becoming available in New Zealand

Access is opening up for Kiwis to a weight loss drug described as a game changer.  

Wegovy, made by pharma-co Novo Nordisk, will arrive in pharmacies next week.  

It's not funded by Pharmac, so users will have to pay and get a prescription for the weekly injectable. 

Calocurb CEO Sarah Kennedy told Ryan Bridge that people need to be aware of both the cost of the drug and the side effect.  

She says that over 70% of people using Wegovy will have gastrointestinal problems that range from nausea to diarrhoea, and over 70% of people regain the weight within a year. 

Kennedy says lifestyle changes need to be made as well as taking the drug. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The drug that's made the Hollywood celebrities skinny and looking
fabulous again is coming to New Zealand. The ozempic style
weight loss drug Waygovy will be available here from Tuesday.
To get it, though, you're going to need a prescription
from your doctor. Sarah Kennedy is the CEO of Callo
curb And is that a US conference right now in
Las Vegas apparently for ozempic and is with us on

(00:21):
the phone, Sarah, good morning, Hi Ryan, how I'm good things.
What do you do at an ozempic conference? Do they
feed you?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, it's not actually an o Zimpic conference. It's the
largest esthetic show in America, so out there they have
everything there, but weight management is a key part of it.
They have a lot of medi spars that go so yeah,
we're part of that.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Right. Is there much demand? Do you think there's going
to be a lot of demand for waygov in New Zealand?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, if it follows the US, yes, over twelve percent,
over twelve percent of the Marria can have either been
on or are on. We're go v now. So it's
massive growth here and yeah, it's a household name.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Cost is also massive though apparently four hundred and forty
dollars and six hundred dollars for a pack of five pens. Apparently,
is this going to be a p Is it going
to be in reach for the people who might need
it most?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, it is expensive and in fact in the US
for that pack it's about a thousand US dollars, so
not quite as much in New Zealand, but yes, it
will be between five or six hundred sALS. I'm sorry,
five hundred to six hundred dollars. I think people have
to be aware of, you know, first of all, the cost,
it is very expensive. I think secondly, the side effects.

(01:49):
Over seventy percent of people will have gastro intestinal problems
and that really can go from nausea to constipation to
even diary. But you know, so there are signal and
when you're taking any drug there are side effects and
these have significant gashtro and testinal effects. And the third

(02:09):
thing I think people have to be aware of is
that over two thirds, so over seventy percent of people
regain the weight in a year. So without lifestyle changes,
that weight's just going to come straight back on. And
it's not great weight when it comes on because you
also on wed go, you lose a lot of muscle,

(02:30):
so you leave both fat and muscle. So when the
weight comes back on, you're going to get more fat.
So you know, you've got to remember that. So the
lifestyle changes are important.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
You've be skinny fat when you come back from it,
which is not it will be.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
It's just a longer, longer for me yo yo darting
while we're here.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, because you're I mean, this is what I'm about
to say as you would say this, wouldn't you because
you're not you know, obviously going to go to your
GP to get way over. But you're doing more natural stuff,
aren't you. So that's what you're kind of trying to
get people on, is it.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Well, it's a combination, you see. So CALICLEB does so
we understand was developed by the New Zealand government. This
is over fifteen years of research and thirty million dollars.
So we actually discovered this and I'm selling it here
in the years. So how practitioners, so the conference we're
going to as all doctors, they call them practitioners, and

(03:28):
how they're using it as they're using it as an alternative.
You know, that's just what you said. The Secondly, they're
using it in combination so they can do what they
can lower the dose of we're go v right down
to its lowest level, which lowers its cost and lowers
its lowers its cost and lowers its side effects. And

(03:49):
the third way they're using it, which is an absolute must,
is when people are coming off the drug right because
when you tie trait off, you're natural. Because what we're
going it's a synthetic version of our appetite suppressing fill.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Mode, which is what stops you wanting to step stuff
food down your mouth, isn't it, Sarah. We have to
leave it there and we will let you get back
to your conference and really appreciate your time this morning.
That's Sarah Kennedy, chief executive of Callo Curb. For more
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