LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Intermittent shortages of

diabetes drug Ozempic in the European Union that are expected to

continue into the final quarter of 2024 because of strong demand

will not affect all member states, the Danish drugmaker Novo

Nordisk said.

In a note published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)

on Monday, the company recommended healthcare workers continue

limiting treatment initiation of new patients on Ozempic and its

other diabetic drug, Victoza, until the supply situation

improves.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson then told Reuters late on

Tuesday that the information about the shortages was originally

agreed with the EMA "earlier this summer" and that the agency

shared it publicly after ensuring individual member states were

informed first.

Novo is racing to expand production capacity to meet runaway

demand for Ozempic and Wegovy, its obesity drug containing the

same active ingredient. Some analysts forecast the obesity drug

market could be worth about $150 billion by the early 2030s.

"Intermittent shortages are expected into the Q4, however we

continue to expand our global production capacity, which has

been running 24 hours a day, seven days a week," the

spokesperson said in an emailed response to a Reuters query

about Ozempic's availability in the EU. "Not all member states

may be impacted by supply shortages," the spokesperson said.

The company is investing 45 billion Danish crowns ($6.67

billion) in capital expenditures in 2024, compared with 25

billion crowns in 2023, the spokesperson added.

All doses of Ozempic are currently available in the United

States.

($1 = 6.7480 Danish crowns)