The weight loss medication Wegovy will be available to Irish consumers at a cost of approximately €220 per month, with no current provisions for coverage under Ireland’s Drug Payment Scheme or for medical card holders. This pricing means that patients will bear the full cost, amounting to up to €2,640 annually.
Manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Wegovy has been clinically proven to help individuals with obesity achieve an average weight loss of 15 percent, when combined with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. The medication is administered through a weekly self-injection using a pen-like device.
Wegovy contains semaglutide, the same active ingredient found in the company’s other drug, Ozempic, which is already approved for use in Ireland as a treatment for diabetes. However, despite its approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Wegovy is not reimbursed under the Irish healthcare system, nor is it included in the medical card prescription scheme. This status is shared by Mounjaro, a competing obesity treatment developed by Eli Lilly.
Currently, none of these three medications, including Wegovy, are eligible for the Drug Payment Scheme, which typically caps monthly medicine costs at €80. As a result, individuals who wish to use Wegovy must pay the full amount out-of-pocket, making it an expensive option for those seeking treatment.
Novo Nordisk has pointed out that Wegovy, while costing less than Mounjaro, offers a unique advantage in its proven ability to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 20 percent, making it a potentially life-saving treatment beyond weight loss alone.
In an interview earlier this month, Camilla Sylvest, the executive at Novo Nordisk responsible for the drug’s global rollout, stated that outside the United States, most patients will likely be required to pay out of pocket for Wegovy. Sylvest emphasized that despite limited reimbursement in various countries, many individuals are willing to self-finance, particularly when they see immediate weight loss and understand the broader health benefits, such as reductions in comorbidities related to obesity.
Novo Nordisk has been seeking approval from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to have Wegovy included in Ireland’s State medicine schemes, a process that has been ongoing since early 2022. However, Professor Michael Barry, director of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE), has indicated that even if the drug is eventually approved for reimbursement, its availability may be restricted to select patients, due to financial constraints.
“I don’t foresee a scenario where all patients who could benefit from these drugs will be able to access them through public schemes,” said Prof Barry. “It’s simply not sustainable from a cost perspective.”
As the debate over access to obesity treatments continues, patients in Ireland face the challenge of funding Wegovy privately, while awaiting further developments in its potential inclusion in state-sponsored health coverage.
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