Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk urges doctor consultations for obesity care

The maker of weight loss drugs developed for diabetics, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, wants you to consult a doctor to ensure your weight loss journey is a healthy one.

Two days before World Obesity Day on March 4, pharma major Novo Nordisk took out an ad in The Times of India urging readers to take that one important step, represented as the 10,000 steps of the day, and seek a doctor. At the same time, it frames itself as the original in obesity care.

The ad points to a website, WeGoWithYou.com, which offers not only a Body Mass Index BMI calculator but also resources on obesity and a questionnaire that prompts users to reflect on their health and goals. It ends with an option to choose a virtual consultation or one near you via 1MG or Practo, respectively.

This strategy of framing obesity as a medical condition and positioning doctor consultations as the best way forward is by design, because the Government of India prohibits the advertising of prescription drugs.

Rival Eli Lilly, which makes the GLP 1 drug Mounjaro, has taken the same route and framed obesity as a medical condition. It recently released a three ad campaign on the subject.

Social media has fuelled conversations around semaglutide, the medication inside GLP 1 medicines, and the narrative is now moving from awareness to consideration for some people. However, for most pharma companies, spreading awareness remains the key objective.