Technically, it is called drug repurposing and basically indicates the repositioning of drugs as a result of the fact that they prove effective for pathologies that are not those for which they were originally designed. Cases of drug repurposing are not very frequent but not very rare either, and above all they have consequences not only of a pharmaceutical type but also of an economic and social nature. The best known of these cases is certainly that of Viagra, which was born as a drug whose purpose was to treat angina pectoris, hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders but, it was promptly discovered, has extremely effective effects as an erection stimulant and therefore capable of curing erectile dysfunction, here the active ingredient is that of sildenafil which following the great popularity it had among the global male community has become the basis for all A series of medications created specifically to support sexual activity. Other cases include minoxidil, which was also studied as a cure for hypertension, and was soon found to have hair-growing abilities, and here too the global community decided to benefit from it. Another active ingredient, another repurposing was that of thalidomide which was born as a drug to combat nausea in pregnancy, but proved harmful for this application, it had the unexpected effectiveness of being active against myelomas. The most striking of these cases, however, is the one that has been happening in recent weeks with great economic and social impact. Here the active ingredient is that of Semaglutide was created to treat diabetes and has been found to be very effective for weight loss. In one part of the world, overweight and obesity are widespread, and the drug, whose trade name was originally Ozempic It soon became a best seller, so much so that the pharmaceutical company that produces it, the Danish Novo Nordisk, rushed to develop a version designed precisely to facilitate weight loss that took the trade name of Wegovy. Now, however, things are happening: in the meantime there has been an outcry from the community of people with diabetes because they now have difficulty finding the drug that is vital for them as more and more people get it prescribed for reasons related more to aesthetics than to health, thus creating a social problem that can be solved by increasing the availability of the drug and insisting on separation, On a commercial level, between the one originally created for diabetics and the one created specifically to facilitate weight loss. And precisely for this reason, the Danish company announced a few days ago an investment of more than 2 billion euros to expand its production center based in Chartres in France, news that followed that of the announcement made at the beginning of November, of another expansion project at the Danish production site in Kalundborg for a value of over 5.5 billion euros.
Innovation, society, economy
Then there is the economic question because Novo Nordisk is getting very rich. The numbers are impressive: over €30 billion in turnover expected by the end of 2023, set to become €37 billion in 2024 and €44 billion in 2026. It is currently the most capitalized European company with a value of more than 400 billion euros, more or less the same as the GDP of the whole of Denmark To have a term of comparison, the value of its shares has gone from about 240 Danish kroner in June 2021 just before the approval of Wegovy by the FDA (the Federal Drug Administration, the U.S. Medicines Authority) peaked at more than 700 crowns in November 2023. Today, Novo Nordisk is the European company with the largest market capitalization ahead of LVMH. the French luxury giant that capitalizes 350 billion euros, Nestlé, the Swiss conglomerate in the food sector that capitalizes 280 billion euros, the Dutch ASML that operates in the semiconductor sector with just over 250 billion capitalization, the other French L’Oreal with about 235 billion, the two Swiss pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis respectively in sixth and ninth place by capitalization value, separated from Hermes and Shell, which are seventh and eighth, the ranking of the 10 most capitalized companies in Europe is closed by the British AstraZeneca, then another pharmaceutical. Even looking at a global level, Novo Nordisk appears to be the second most capitalized pharmaceutical company in the world after the US Eli Lilly and before the other US Johnson & Johnson, followed by Merck (USA) and the aforementioned Roche, Novartis and AstraZeneca. The issue is therefore of scientific, social and economic interest, also because it should be remembered that Denmark, despite being a country of the European Union, has decided not to adopt the euro, therefore the occurrence of imbalances in economic values, in one sense or another, would risk stressing the system of relationship between the value of Danish kroner and the euro which, It does provide for a possible fluctuation, but within fixed limits, just as interest rate decisions must also be taken in a coordinated manner between the ECB and the Danish central bank. What is likely to happen in the immediate future is a growth in the popularity of Wegovy, as was the case with Viagra, and therefore a continued growth in the value of Novo Nordisk as well, but what these stories show is how innovation is formed and transformed and how it is able to bring benefits. History is full of scientific discoveries that have made it possible to eradicate serious diseases or to have devices capable of diagnosing and treating diseases that were once lethal, when it comes to life science the impact on humanity is directly visible (we have also seen it happen recently with the COVID-19 vaccines), but Even when innovation develops in other sectors, there are moments of great impact, think for example of energy, and it is particularly important that in this historical moment there are innovations of great magnitude because the challenges to be overcome are many and of historic significance starting with those related to climate change, the increase in the average age especially in Europe and some Asian countries, the redefinition of strategic and geopolitical balances and models. (photo: Novo Nordisk website)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©