Sesame, a specialty pharmacy and distribution company, announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk to distribute the Wegovy® oral pill, the first FDA‑approved oral GLP‑1 therapy for obesity. The pill, approved on December 22, 2025, began nationwide sales on January 5, 2026, and is now available in more than 70,000 U.S. pharmacies, including major retailers such as CVS and Costco.
Clinical data from the OASIS 4 trial show the Wegovy pill delivers an average weight loss of 13.6% over 64 weeks, comparable to the injectable formulation. Novo Nordisk offers a tiered pricing structure: a starter dose at roughly $149 per month, rising to $299 per month for higher doses, with commercial insurers able to pay as little as $25 per month through a savings program.
The partnership with Sesame, a cash‑pay platform, expands access beyond Novo’s specialty pharmacy channels and aligns with the company’s strategy to capture needle‑averse patients. By offering a convenient pill, Novo positions itself ahead of competitors such as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and its own oral candidate orforglipron, while also mitigating supply‑chain constraints that have affected injectable GLP‑1 products.
Early uptake has been strong: by the week ending January 9, 2026, prescriptions reached 3,100, a figure that analysts at Leerink Partners said compares favorably to Eli Lilly’s launch pace. Analysts at UBS and Berenberg have projected first‑quarter sales of the oral Wegovy to exceed $1 billion, citing the first‑to‑market advantage and aggressive cash pricing.
Novo Nordisk’s senior vice president of marketing, Ed Cinca, described the pill as a “significant innovation” that will broaden affordability and accessibility. Executive vice president of U.S. operations, Dave Moore, added that the Sesame collaboration “is another step forward in giving people more choice.”
The launch also signals a shift in Novo’s manufacturing focus. The oral formulation is simpler to produce than injectable pens, allowing the company to leverage its expanded capacity at Catalent sites and reduce production costs. The company’s broader pipeline—including CagriSema and amycretin—positions it to sustain growth in obesity and metabolic disease markets.
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