WEBVTT - Novo Nordisk President and CEO Talks Wegovy Pill

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News Now.

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<v Speaker 2>For our top corporate story of the morning, Nova Noorda

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<v Speaker 2>shares rising and pre market trading. This is the drug

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<v Speaker 2>maker wins approval to sell a pill version of its

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<v Speaker 2>blockbuster obesity drug. We Govie joining us now with a

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<v Speaker 2>special guest, Katie Greifeld.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey Katie, Hey Anriy, Thank you very much joining me now.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm pleased to say is the CVO of Novo Nordis.

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<v Speaker 3>His name is Mike Dostar. Mike, great to have you

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<v Speaker 3>with us. Just to set the scene here when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to the US market, you've been losing share to

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<v Speaker 3>your rival Eli Lily for a couple of years now,

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<v Speaker 3>but with this approval you have an important first mover

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<v Speaker 3>advantage when it comes to oral GLP ones. Given that

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<v Speaker 3>you expect to start selling the pill version of Wagov

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<v Speaker 3>in January, whereas Eli Lily isn't due on the market

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<v Speaker 3>until March, how do you plan to make the most

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<v Speaker 3>of this head start.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks very much for having me, Katie. As they said,

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas comes early, so I'm super excited of course to

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<v Speaker 1>be here announcing the big OV pill. As you say,

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<v Speaker 1>this is really going to be super exciting for the

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<v Speaker 1>millions of patients that have been waiting to get their

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<v Speaker 1>hands on a GLP one pill. And for the first time,

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<v Speaker 1>we are having a pill that has an efficacy of

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<v Speaker 1>some seventeen percent if you take the pill regularly, and

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<v Speaker 1>one in three people are going to actually reduce up

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<v Speaker 1>to twenty percent weight loss. I think that data speaks

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<v Speaker 1>for itself, and we are super excited of course to

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<v Speaker 1>be the first to the market, and we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>go all in trying to make this a huge success.

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<v Speaker 3>Well moving forward, I mean beyond just these first few

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<v Speaker 3>months after Eli Lilly does have their pill on the market,

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<v Speaker 3>how do you plan to compete? What is your strategy there?

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<v Speaker 3>Given my understanding is that there's likely going to be

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<v Speaker 3>no restrictions when it comes to food, when it comes

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<v Speaker 3>to drinks around Lily's version.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, So, as I mentioned, there are no other phase

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<v Speaker 1>three trials of GP one that has shown this level efficacy.

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<v Speaker 1>This means that for the first time ever, people do

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<v Speaker 1>not have compromise between either taking an efficacious injection or

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<v Speaker 1>a convenient pill. For the first time ever, you have

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<v Speaker 1>the same efficacy of seventeen percent in injection or at

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<v Speaker 1>pill you can take it on a daily basis as

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<v Speaker 1>a pill or a weekly injection, and that I think

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<v Speaker 1>is the key selling point with WeGo v Pill. We

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<v Speaker 1>also have more than ten years of of course experience

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<v Speaker 1>with regards to safety data and what have you. That's

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<v Speaker 1>why it's called the vigov pill, which means that this

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<v Speaker 1>pill is not only going to reduce your weight, it

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<v Speaker 1>also has protection for your cardiovascular systems. So this is

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<v Speaker 1>a phenomenal pill, second to none, I would say, and

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<v Speaker 1>we are very ready to compete with it.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's talk about how you're going to sell it through.

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<v Speaker 3>What channels will you sell this way go v Pill

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<v Speaker 3>and will all of those channels be available at launch?

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<v Speaker 1>The quick answer is yes, we're going all in. We're

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<v Speaker 1>of course going to sell this through our own websites,

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<v Speaker 1>Novercare Pharmacy, as well as all of our partners be

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<v Speaker 1>it row, Live, MD, Costco, weight Watchers, everyone that you

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<v Speaker 1>can imagine is going to start launching this at the

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<v Speaker 1>same time on the day of the launch. Trump Our

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<v Speaker 1>X of course will be coming up soon as well

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<v Speaker 1>as well as, of course the traditional channels that usually

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<v Speaker 1>medicine is procrued in US.

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<v Speaker 3>Well to that point that you know it's going to

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<v Speaker 3>be widely available. Let's talk about supply. I know that

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<v Speaker 3>you've already started production. How confident are you that you're

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<v Speaker 3>going to be able to meet all of that demand

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<v Speaker 3>at launch, given, of course, the supply challenges that you've

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<v Speaker 3>been through in the past.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me take you back. You know, ten years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>when we started the journey of putting a peptide into

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<v Speaker 1>a pill, no one thought scientifically that is possible. You

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<v Speaker 1>have to remind your audience that pills are usually chemical entities,

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<v Speaker 1>small molecules, and not proteins and peptides, and often they

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<v Speaker 1>have lower efficacy because of that. When we decided to

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<v Speaker 1>actually go this route, everyone thought scientifically, this is impossible.

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<v Speaker 1>Then after that, when we prove them wrong, people thought

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<v Speaker 1>that we cannot scale that because this is quite difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to do again because it's large molecule inside a pill. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>we have shown confidence that we are able to scale

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<v Speaker 1>this more than enough for every single person who would

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<v Speaker 1>want to take the pill, and we're ready for that.

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<v Speaker 1>And then of course, lastly, people are writing us off

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<v Speaker 1>that you know, this would not be possible at an

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<v Speaker 1>affordable price. And I'm also very happy to say once again,

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<v Speaker 1>we are proving all of these skeptics wrong. So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>super excited that we have something that is borderline miracle

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<v Speaker 1>in my own humble opinion, a peptide in a pill

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<v Speaker 1>with a high efficacy, produce at scale, and we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to actually sell it through all channels at relatively affordable price.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm curious how you see this market evolving. Whether you

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<v Speaker 3>think that, you know, having this pill version available will

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<v Speaker 3>expand the total addressable market, the total number of patients

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<v Speaker 3>that you can reach, or whether or not it might

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<v Speaker 3>cannibalize the injectibles that you're already serving.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, in my own family and circle of friends,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a number of people that have been very

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<v Speaker 1>attracted in taking a gop one product and reducing weight.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately that have not you know, taken that journey because

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<v Speaker 1>they've been either afraid of injections or there's the taboo

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<v Speaker 1>of injection. I think a lot of these people today

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<v Speaker 1>will be able to find big ov pill incredibly interesting

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<v Speaker 1>as a weight again to come in get the same

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<v Speaker 1>efficacy as your injection, but in a form factor of

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<v Speaker 1>a pill. So in short, I think the market will

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<v Speaker 1>expand quite a bit actually for many of these people

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<v Speaker 1>that have just been waiting and seeing the injectable versions

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<v Speaker 1>of these gop one products taking taking the world by storm.

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<v Speaker 3>And of course we have to talk about pricing and

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<v Speaker 3>how that plays into the political picture. Many drug makers,

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<v Speaker 3>yourself included, have made pricing deals with the Trump administration.

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<v Speaker 3>And given that those deals have already been made, what

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<v Speaker 3>additional political hurdles do you see, if any, in twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty six.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, again, the whole, the whole negotiation with the Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>administration has been around providing access at an affordable price.

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<v Speaker 1>And we have announced that we will start the starting

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<v Speaker 1>those of the big O V pill at one nine,

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<v Speaker 1>which I think is a very you know, affordable price

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<v Speaker 1>for many Americans to to to get interested at. And

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<v Speaker 1>and and I will say that as we go forward,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, we will very much like to continue expanding

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<v Speaker 1>the market, and we will make sure that the price

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<v Speaker 1>levels are in a way that that that that that

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<v Speaker 1>that will make us do that.

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<v Speaker 3>And Mike, before I let you go, I have to

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<v Speaker 3>ask you about m and A. Of course, you had

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<v Speaker 3>that eye profile bidding war with Pizer over met Sarah.

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<v Speaker 3>Pfizer ultimately came out on top. But with that in

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<v Speaker 3>the background, Are you still looking to pursue deals here,

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<v Speaker 3>deals here to help fill out your pipeline so to speak.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, we have made it very clear that we would

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<v Speaker 1>like to sustain our leadership in diabetes and obesity and

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<v Speaker 1>go very deep. We have a fantastic pipeline in both

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<v Speaker 1>of those therapy areas. But the world is very large.

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<v Speaker 1>We are dealing with some close to two billion people

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<v Speaker 1>that are suffering from diabetes, obesity and overweight. And when

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<v Speaker 1>you're having an ambition to actually capture as many patients

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<v Speaker 1>as possible from this very large pool, then you will

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<v Speaker 1>continue looking not just in your own research shop, but

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<v Speaker 1>everywhere else to see how complimentary wise you could actually

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<v Speaker 1>have the best pipeline available and the best offering amongst

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<v Speaker 1>all your competitors.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, Mike, I know it is a big day for

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<v Speaker 3>I really appreciate you taking the time for Bloomberg Television.

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<v Speaker 3>Happy holidays when you get there. That is Mike Dostar.

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<v Speaker 3>He is the CEO of Novo Nordisk