September 12, 2023 • 10 mins
You may have heard of Ozempic, the diabetes medication that went viral on TikTok for being a so-called 'miracle weight loss drug'. Now the company who makes it, Novo Nordisk has become the biggest company in the EU. In today’s deep dive we’ll explain what that means, and how the company continues to grow despite an international shortage in their product.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Calcuttin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily os It's Wednesday,
the thirteenth of September.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm Zara, I'm Sam.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You may have heard of something called ozempic, a so
called miracle weight loss drug that was actually made to
treat diabetes. It went viral all over TikTok, leading to
shortages around the world. A drug shortage is impacting people
living with diabetes, and some pharmacies say they just can't
get it in stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Both of these women say they don't have diabetes, but
were advised by their doctors to take Ozempek to help
with weight loss.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Now, the company who makes the drug has officially become
the biggest company in the European Union. So how is
Novo Nordists rapid growth impacting the economy and what does
it mean for the future of weight loss. We'll let
you know in today's deep dive. But first sam some
news in the gambling space.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Draft laws that would ban credit cards being used for
online gambling will be tabled in federal parliament today. The
legislation follows from a recommendation by a parliamentary committee back
in twenty twenty one, and will introduce fines of about
two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars for breaches of
the rules. Credit cards have been banned for in person gambling,
such as pokezer at racetracks for about twenty years.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
The Victorian government is trialing university scholarships that would cover
tuition costs for secondary teaching students. Eligible students will need
to enroll in UNI in the next two years and
work in Victorian schools for at least two years after graduating.
It's unclear if the subsidized study will be extended in
future years. The measure has been introduced to grow so
(02:00):
Victoria's teaching workforce.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Kim Jong mun has arrived in Russia for talks with
Vladimir Putin. Kim will meet with Putin near the North Korea,
Russia border. The pair are expected to discuss global issues,
which could include Russia's war against Ukraine. It is Kim's
first international trip in four years.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And the good news and NASA astronaut has broken the
record for the longest time spent in space. Frank Rubio
passed the previous record of three hundred and fifty five
consecutive days aboard the International Space Station this week. He'll
return to Earth later this month, following three hundred and
seventy one days in space.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
SAM.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
In the world of pharmaceuticals, it's often a competition to
see who will make the world's next big breakthrough, like.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
The COVID vaccine was the big innovation of the twenty
twenty twenty twenty one season exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I mean, it was a genuine race to get this
thing that was going to change the world world. But
these pharmaceutical arms races aren't always about responding to something
like a pandemic. In fact, one of the drugs that's
got big farmer paying attention at the moment is something
called ozepic. It's a drug that is designed to treat
type two diabetes, and it's been so popular that the
(03:17):
company who makes it, Novo Nordisk has actually become the
largest company in the European Union.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So I have heard of zempic, but not as a
diabetes drug. This is the drug that we've posted about
before at TDA, which got really popular as a weight
loss drug.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, and I think just starting with an explanation of
what ozenpic, I mean, what it was meant to do
and what it's being used for now is pretty necessary.
So it's actually been around for several years. It was
created to help glycemic control, so like glucose levels in
people with type two diabetes. But then people started getting
(03:53):
their hands on it for a different reason, and that
was for weight loss, and this started to really take off.
And then at the start of this year we started
hearing about the fact that people with diabetes were actually
struggling to access ozempic because the drug had gone so
viral on TikTok.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
If you were a human being that's on TikTok, I'm
sure that you've heard of ozempic.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
This drug could mean the end of weight loss surgery.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I lost fifty pounds while I was on ozampic, you.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Know, ozempek ozempe.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I just feel better since it was discovered that ozempic
can actually suppress your appetite and then in some cases
lead to weight loss. Demand for the drug has absolutely skyrocketed,
so much so that today there still remains an international
shortage of ozenpic.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
And this has been a massive story not only in
the news, but also in pop culture. And part of
the reason why is because of its presence on TikTok
and that's.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
But also celebrity Like I feel like, yeah, you know,
anytime you watch a video of a celebrity or you
read an article about a celebrity, everyone wants to know
if they're taking ozempic because if someone has radically lost weight,
that is now the immediate place that your brain goes to.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
But I guess the reason why we're talking about it
today is that it's clearly spilled beyond celebrity circles. Nova Nordisk,
which is the maker of the drug, has now become
the biggest company in the EU. What does that actually mean?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I mean this blew my mind, Like think about the
size and the time that these companies have existed for
and the fact that this is now the biggest is
insane to me. But when we're talking about it being
the biggest company in the EU. Basically, the metric we're
using here is market capital, so it's the share value
of the company itself.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
So if you added up every single share in the
company that everyone owns, the total amount.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
It has a market capital price of around seven hundred
billion with a b Australian dollars. And I mean to
put this into perspective, that's significantly more than the GDP
of the country that the company actually belongs to Denmark.
To reach this position, the pharmaceutical company has overtaken LVMA Each,
which is the luxury brand company which owns Dior, Louis
(06:03):
Vton and Sephora. So some pretty major companies are now
being dwarfed by this drug company, and it's fair to
say that it's having a significant impact on Denmark's economy,
to the point that the director of the country's largest
bank actually said that Novo Nordisk's rapid growth is even
impacting the nation's interest rates.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
I remember we talked about the way that interest rates
can move up and down because of events in the
context of Taylor Swift a couple of months ago. So
this is quite a different example, but similar principles. I
guess the thing I'm struggling with is that we've been
talking about a zenpic for a while. Now, what is
it about the last few weeks that's meant that the
company's share price has really taken off.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Well, that can be explained by a recent move by
the company to launch a new product, and their product
is specifically promoted as being for weight loss. So, as
I said earlier, while ozempic was designed as a diabetes medication,
it's popular already as a weight loss drug. Was seeing
huge demand and shortages of the drug, and so in
(07:05):
response to this, drug regulators like Australia's TGA, for example,
have been asking doctors to only prescribe the medication for
type two diabetes, but to address the demand. So that's
the supply issue, but to address the demand for a
weight loss specific product. Novo Nortics has actually come out
with a new drug called wegov. It has the same
(07:26):
active ingredient as ozempic, but it's specifically branded as for
chronic weight management, so it's not for something else but
also helps you lose weight. This is being marketed by
the drug company as for weight loss.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
But clearly with an in built audience ready to buy.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
It exactly, and they haven't launched the product in Australia yet,
but it's already available in the US, Norway, Germany and Denmark,
and Wegov was launched in the UK last week and
it's the latest move into a new market that's been
credited with the jump that we were just speaking about
in the company's share price.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So I know, the story about the rise in popularity
of weight loss drugs like wegov or a zenpic has
been quite controversial. Tell me about the issues here.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I mean with any story where health, pharmaceuticals and discussion
of weight all collide, there are of course going to
be many points of contention. I think it's interesting to
examine it from a couple of different angles. On the
business side, it's interesting to note that the company is
continuing to launch Regovi in new countries despite the fact
(08:28):
that their supply issues continue. So, I mean, we've spoken
about in this podcast the fact that there's so much
demand and supply cannot keep up, and yet they're launching
the product in new markets without actually having the supply.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So that's one issue.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Another criticism of the way this is all unfolded is
about the messaging surrounding these drugs and what the prevalence
of people promoting them on social media, like TikTok actually
says to young people about their bodies. But also in
the same vein, I think it's interesting to note that
there is a shift in the way that these drugs
are being being spoken about on social media. I think
that there was definitely kind of the ozepic heyday. There
(09:05):
was the time where everyone was talking about it as
the greatest thing on earth.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
But now if you scroll.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Through TikTok, there are people talking about the side effects
of it as well.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
So legitimately horrific side effects to these skinny shows. Walking
out of complete conversations into the bathroom where I would hyperventilate,
shake on the ground, throw up, I felt absolutely terrible.
I was dizzy all the time. I was exhausted all
the time.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Look, I think that there are lots of conversations to
have around Ozepic, to have around weight loss drugs in general.
But also I think it's interesting to think about the
market share that this company has, and clearly they've seen
success and so it'll be really interesting to see if
they can hold on to that in the future. If
you have any insights into this topic and want to
(09:51):
let us know what you think. You can go into
Spotify and leave us a comment and we'll get back
to that as soon as we can.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Thanks for listening to this podcast. We'll be back again
tomorrow morning. Speaking of
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Calcuttin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily os It's Wednesday,
the thirteenth of September.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm Zara, I'm Sam.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
You may have heard of something called ozempic, a so
called miracle weight loss drug that was actually made to
treat diabetes. It went viral all over TikTok, leading to
shortages around the world. A drug shortage is impacting people
living with diabetes, and some pharmacies say they just can't
get it in stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Both of these women say they don't have diabetes, but
were advised by their doctors to take Ozempek to help
with weight loss.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Now, the company who makes the drug has officially become
the biggest company in the European Union. So how is
Novo Nordists rapid growth impacting the economy and what does
it mean for the future of weight loss. We'll let
you know in today's deep dive. But first sam some
news in the gambling space.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Draft laws that would ban credit cards being used for
online gambling will be tabled in federal parliament today. The
legislation follows from a recommendation by a parliamentary committee back
in twenty twenty one, and will introduce fines of about
two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars for breaches of
the rules. Credit cards have been banned for in person gambling,
such as pokezer at racetracks for about twenty years.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
The Victorian government is trialing university scholarships that would cover
tuition costs for secondary teaching students. Eligible students will need
to enroll in UNI in the next two years and
work in Victorian schools for at least two years after graduating.
It's unclear if the subsidized study will be extended in
future years. The measure has been introduced to grow so
(02:00):
Victoria's teaching workforce.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Kim Jong mun has arrived in Russia for talks with
Vladimir Putin. Kim will meet with Putin near the North Korea,
Russia border. The pair are expected to discuss global issues,
which could include Russia's war against Ukraine. It is Kim's
first international trip in four years.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
And the good news and NASA astronaut has broken the
record for the longest time spent in space. Frank Rubio
passed the previous record of three hundred and fifty five
consecutive days aboard the International Space Station this week. He'll
return to Earth later this month, following three hundred and
seventy one days in space.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
SAM.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
In the world of pharmaceuticals, it's often a competition to
see who will make the world's next big breakthrough, like.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
The COVID vaccine was the big innovation of the twenty
twenty twenty twenty one season exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I mean, it was a genuine race to get this
thing that was going to change the world world. But
these pharmaceutical arms races aren't always about responding to something
like a pandemic. In fact, one of the drugs that's
got big farmer paying attention at the moment is something
called ozepic. It's a drug that is designed to treat
type two diabetes, and it's been so popular that the
(03:17):
company who makes it, Novo Nordisk has actually become the
largest company in the European Union.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So I have heard of zempic, but not as a
diabetes drug. This is the drug that we've posted about
before at TDA, which got really popular as a weight
loss drug.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, and I think just starting with an explanation of
what ozenpic, I mean, what it was meant to do
and what it's being used for now is pretty necessary.
So it's actually been around for several years. It was
created to help glycemic control, so like glucose levels in
people with type two diabetes. But then people started getting
(03:53):
their hands on it for a different reason, and that
was for weight loss, and this started to really take off.
And then at the start of this year we started
hearing about the fact that people with diabetes were actually
struggling to access ozempic because the drug had gone so
viral on TikTok.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
If you were a human being that's on TikTok, I'm
sure that you've heard of ozempic.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
This drug could mean the end of weight loss surgery.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I lost fifty pounds while I was on ozampic, you.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Know, ozempek ozempe.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I just feel better since it was discovered that ozempic
can actually suppress your appetite and then in some cases
lead to weight loss. Demand for the drug has absolutely skyrocketed,
so much so that today there still remains an international
shortage of ozenpic.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
And this has been a massive story not only in
the news, but also in pop culture. And part of
the reason why is because of its presence on TikTok
and that's.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
But also celebrity Like I feel like, yeah, you know,
anytime you watch a video of a celebrity or you
read an article about a celebrity, everyone wants to know
if they're taking ozempic because if someone has radically lost weight,
that is now the immediate place that your brain goes to.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
But I guess the reason why we're talking about it
today is that it's clearly spilled beyond celebrity circles. Nova Nordisk,
which is the maker of the drug, has now become
the biggest company in the EU. What does that actually mean?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I mean this blew my mind, Like think about the
size and the time that these companies have existed for
and the fact that this is now the biggest is
insane to me. But when we're talking about it being
the biggest company in the EU. Basically, the metric we're
using here is market capital, so it's the share value
of the company itself.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
So if you added up every single share in the
company that everyone owns, the total amount.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
It has a market capital price of around seven hundred
billion with a b Australian dollars. And I mean to
put this into perspective, that's significantly more than the GDP
of the country that the company actually belongs to Denmark.
To reach this position, the pharmaceutical company has overtaken LVMA Each,
which is the luxury brand company which owns Dior, Louis
(06:03):
Vton and Sephora. So some pretty major companies are now
being dwarfed by this drug company, and it's fair to
say that it's having a significant impact on Denmark's economy,
to the point that the director of the country's largest
bank actually said that Novo Nordisk's rapid growth is even
impacting the nation's interest rates.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
I remember we talked about the way that interest rates
can move up and down because of events in the
context of Taylor Swift a couple of months ago. So
this is quite a different example, but similar principles. I
guess the thing I'm struggling with is that we've been
talking about a zenpic for a while. Now, what is
it about the last few weeks that's meant that the
company's share price has really taken off.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Well, that can be explained by a recent move by
the company to launch a new product, and their product
is specifically promoted as being for weight loss. So, as
I said earlier, while ozempic was designed as a diabetes medication,
it's popular already as a weight loss drug. Was seeing
huge demand and shortages of the drug, and so in
(07:05):
response to this, drug regulators like Australia's TGA, for example,
have been asking doctors to only prescribe the medication for
type two diabetes, but to address the demand. So that's
the supply issue, but to address the demand for a
weight loss specific product. Novo Nortics has actually come out
with a new drug called wegov. It has the same
(07:26):
active ingredient as ozempic, but it's specifically branded as for
chronic weight management, so it's not for something else but
also helps you lose weight. This is being marketed by
the drug company as for weight loss.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
But clearly with an in built audience ready to buy.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
It exactly, and they haven't launched the product in Australia yet,
but it's already available in the US, Norway, Germany and Denmark,
and Wegov was launched in the UK last week and
it's the latest move into a new market that's been
credited with the jump that we were just speaking about
in the company's share price.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So I know, the story about the rise in popularity
of weight loss drugs like wegov or a zenpic has
been quite controversial. Tell me about the issues here.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I mean with any story where health, pharmaceuticals and discussion
of weight all collide, there are of course going to
be many points of contention. I think it's interesting to
examine it from a couple of different angles. On the
business side, it's interesting to note that the company is
continuing to launch Regovi in new countries despite the fact
(08:28):
that their supply issues continue. So, I mean, we've spoken
about in this podcast the fact that there's so much
demand and supply cannot keep up, and yet they're launching
the product in new markets without actually having the supply.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
So that's one issue.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Another criticism of the way this is all unfolded is
about the messaging surrounding these drugs and what the prevalence
of people promoting them on social media, like TikTok actually
says to young people about their bodies. But also in
the same vein, I think it's interesting to note that
there is a shift in the way that these drugs
are being being spoken about on social media. I think
that there was definitely kind of the ozepic heyday. There
(09:05):
was the time where everyone was talking about it as
the greatest thing on earth.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
But now if you scroll.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Through TikTok, there are people talking about the side effects
of it as well.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
So legitimately horrific side effects to these skinny shows. Walking
out of complete conversations into the bathroom where I would hyperventilate,
shake on the ground, throw up, I felt absolutely terrible.
I was dizzy all the time. I was exhausted all
the time.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Look, I think that there are lots of conversations to
have around Ozepic, to have around weight loss drugs in general.
But also I think it's interesting to think about the
market share that this company has, and clearly they've seen
success and so it'll be really interesting to see if
they can hold on to that in the future. If
you have any insights into this topic and want to
(09:51):
let us know what you think. You can go into
Spotify and leave us a comment and we'll get back
to that as soon as we can.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Thanks for listening to this podcast. We'll be back again
tomorrow morning. Speaking of
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