Behind the scenes at Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy production plant

TIME

In the last week of December,  while most of the U.S. was still in holiday mode, Novo Nordisk’s plant in North Carolina was operating at full capacity.  On Dec. 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company’s oral version of Wegovy, making it the first pill of the popular GLP-1 medications to get the green light for weight loss. People who want to lose weight and are prescribed Wegovy now have the option of taking the tablet daily, versus injecting themselves with the drug once a week. They’ll lose about the same amount of weight with either version: between 16% and 17% of their starting body weight.

Transcript

00:00I got a tour of the factory where Novo Nordisk is making the brand new Wagovi pill for weight loss.

00:07The whole process starts with fungus, or more specifically, the yeast that we use to make bread.

00:13The yeast cells are genetically engineered at Novo Nordisk's facility in North Carolina

00:18to produce a protein that is fermented in several four-story tall tanks,

00:24then goes through multiple purification steps to produce a compound called semaglutide.

00:30Semaglutide mimics a human hormone that regulates appetite by working in the reward center of the brain

00:37to help people feel less hungry.

00:40Semaglutide forms a beige paste and freeze at minus 20 degrees Celsius.

00:46In the final step of the process, the paste is thawed and purified into a liquid at a high temperature.

00:52That liquid is then spray-dried into a fine white powder.

00:57The powder is pressed into Wagovi tablets.

01:01In coming weeks, these Wagovi pills will be available in four doses.

01:06Doctors expect that taking pills will be more convenient for people

01:09compared to injecting themselves with the drug, which is what they have to do now.

01:14So more people might ultimately be able to lose weight with this medication.

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