UPDATE 1-More than a third of patients on Wegovy pill are new to GLP-1 drugs, study finds

Among early users ‌of Novo ​Nordisk's new Wegovy weight-loss pill, 36% had no prior experience taking a GLP-1 medication, a new nationwide study from the health data firm Truveta ‌found. Of patients who started a new pill prescription, 21.1% had previously taken the injectable version of Wegovy and 15.8% switched from Eli Lilly's Zepbound, another injectable GLP-1 medicine, according to Truveta data. The Wegovy pill is the ‌first oral GLP-1 drug approved to treat chronic weight management, creating a new option for patients and ‌providers who might not want an injectable medicine.

The fast uptake among those without prior experience with GLP-1 drugs shows that the oral medication is reaching new patients rather than just taking market share from the injectables, something analysts and investors have been ⁠eager ​to gauge. Truveta reviewed health records ⁠from 8,762 U.S. patients with evidence of a prescription written or filled for the new Wegovy pill, which won U.S. approval ⁠on December 22.

During the first six weeks that the pill has been available to patients, Truveta found that 73.3% ​of those with prescriptions are female, 72.8% are white and 71.6% live in urban areas. The ⁠group also skewed older as 34% were ages 45 to 59 years, and 37.8% were age 60 or older. The data offers ⁠an ​early glimpse of patients on oral Wegovy, which may change over time.

For example, more patients currently taking injectable GLP-1 medicines may switch to the pill in the coming weeks, after they finish their ⁠current supply, Truveta noted. A rival oral weight-loss medication from Lilly is expected to be approved in April.

Novo ⁠is selling lower ⁠doses of its daily pill in the United States for $149 per month for self-paying patients, rising to $199 in April. In January, Truveta reported that prescriptions for ‌GLP-1 therapies now account ‌for over 7% of all prescriptions nationwide.