Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has submitted a complete reimbursement application to Ireland's Health Service Executive for obesity drug Wegovy to be covered under medical card and community drug payment schemes, according to an Irish Examiner report.

The company began the assessment process last year and made its final submission earlier this week. The HSE's national centre for pharmacoeconomics is responsible for assessing value for money of new medications, balancing proven health benefits against financial cost. The process takes approximately 18 weeks to complete with up to five additional weeks possible.

Currently only one obesity treatment, Saxenda, is covered for patients under Irish reimbursement schemes. Wegovy's main ingredient is semaglutide, which received European Medicines Agency authorisation for use across the European Union in 2023 as effective at reducing weight in adults with obesity or who are overweight with weight-related health problems.

A Novo Nordisk spokeswoman in Ireland described the submission as "a milestone in progressing this reimbursement application." The application seeks coverage for patients under the State's medical card and community drug schemes.

While Ozempic also contains semaglutide, it is only funded in Ireland for Type 2 Diabetes patients and not for obesity management independently. It is covered for people with medical cards and on the long-term illness scheme.

The huge demand for these medicines has generated a black market of fake and illegal products across Europe including Ireland. Irish medicines regulator HPRA recently warned illegal weight-loss products pose serious public health risks. The Novo Nordisk spokeswoman confirmed the company works closely with HPRA to combat manufacturing and spread of unauthorised semaglutide products.

Explore full details on Novo Nordisk's Wegovy reimbursement application and Irish pharmaceutical access frameworks in the complete report.