“It’s not just about sales; it’s about changing patients’ lives”

Jakob Mollerup, General Manager of Novo Nordisk Middle Africa

A diabetes rate affecting more than one in five adults has placed Mauritius among the markets targeted by Novo Nordisk’s latest African expansion. Following the official launch of Ozempic on 1 July, Jakob Mollerup, General Manager of Novo Nordisk Middle Africa, told Bizweek that the company had secured supplies at several levels, set the four-dose pen’s retail price at MUR 6,300 and begun educating doctors on its appropriate use. He also drew a firm distinction between Ozempic, which is approved for type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, the group’s treatment for chronic weight management.

The introduction of Ozempic, the once-weekly semaglutide injection, comes as Mauritius confronts a substantial and persistent burden of diabetes and obesity. Novo Nordisk estimates that approximately 22.6 per cent of adults aged between 20 and 79 are living with type 2 diabetes, while nearly half of those affected may remain inadequately controlled for several years, increasing their exposure to serious complications.

The official launch of Ozempic was marked by separate sessions for healthcare professionals and the media at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, in Port Louis, on 1 July 2026. The events focused on the role that Ozempic could play in addressing some of the country’s most pressing diabetes-management challenges.

“We are optimistic that Ozempic will be broadly used in Mauritius.” 

Jakob Mollerup said that the prevalence of diabetes, combined with the number of people living with obesity, created a need for treatment options addressing chronic metabolic conditions, and made the country a significant part of Novo Nordisk’s wider African strategy. “We look at Mauritius as a country with a good healthcare sector, both private and public. We believe that people living across the world should have access to the best possible medicine, and that, of course, includes people in Mauritius,” he explained. 

Beyond lowering blood sugar

Ozempic is a prescription-only medicine containing semaglutide and administered through a once-weekly injection. It is available in doses of 0.25 milligrams, 0.5 milligrams and 1 milligram. The treatment belongs to a class of medicines known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. According to Novo Nordisk, it lowers blood glucose by stimulating insulin secretion and inhibiting glucagon in a glucose-dependent manner. It can also reduce appetite and calorie intake.

The company is positioning the medicine as a treatment that goes beyond controlling blood sugar alone. Novo Nordisk says Ozempic can support weight management among people with type 2 diabetes, reduce cardiovascular risk, provide kidney-related benefits and positively influence cardiometabolic indicators such as blood pressure and lipid levels.

Jakob Mollerup attributed Ozempic’s international success largely to its efficacy and to the range of outcomes experienced by patients.

“It helps a lot of people achieve good glycaemic control and lower their blood sugar. It also helps them lose a bit of weight, reduces cardiovascular risk and offers some kidney protection. It has a very broad label that can help patients. It offers not just clinically proven benefits, but benefits that people also experience in real life,” he explained. 

The Mauritian launch is supported by findings from Novo Nordisk’s SUSTAIN clinical programme, which involved more than 10,000 adults with type 2 diabetes at different stages of the disease and with varying risk profiles. Across the studies cited by the company, up to 80 per cent of patients achieved an HbA1c level below 7 per cent, the target identified in the press release in accordance with recommendations from the American Diabetes Association.

The programme also recorded average weight loss of up to 6.5 kilograms, and in a cardiovascular outcomes study, the company reported a 26 per cent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events compared with a placebo. Novo Nordisk also said that Ozempic had demonstrated superiority over comparator treatments across several studies.

“What we have proven in a clinical setting also translates to real life.” 

“Ozempic is a product that offers proven benefits to patients, and that is why we see good uptake globally and good demand globally,” insisted Jakob Mollerup. “It is not because patients like to take unnecessary medicine. It is because they see the benefits, they feel the benefits, and what we have proven in a clinical setting also translates to real life.”

With its established international record, Jakob Mollerup insists that “Ozempic is a very safe and trusted medicine,” adding that “there are more than 28 million people on Ozempic worldwide.”

Asked about reported adverse effects, he said that gastrointestinal reactions were the most common, but “most of those side effects are mild and temporary and can be managed through proper titration with a trained doctor.”

A distinction between diabetes and weight management

The international popularity of semaglutide has created widespread public interest in its potential use for weight loss, including among people who are not living with diabetes.

For Jakob Mollerup, however, Ozempic is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and should not be regarded as a general weight-loss medicine.

However, at the time of the interview, Novo Nordisk was also preparing to make Wegovy available in Mauritius later in July. Wegovy also contains semaglutide but is specifically approved for chronic weight management in eligible patients.

“We will have a product that can offer a solution to people living with obesity in Mauritius,” Jakob Mollerup stressed. “If people are living with obesity, or are overweight with certain comorbidities, they should consult their doctor. Wegovy is the right choice because Wegovy is approved for weight management.”

Doctors at the centre of the rollout

The company expects demand for Wegovy to be supported by the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mauritius. Jakob Mollerup described it as a treatment that could help eligible patients lose weight safely and effectively when prescribed and monitored by a doctor.

Both products are intended as long-term treatments rather than short-term interventions. “Ozempic is a chronic treatment, which means that when people start on Ozempic, they should continue on Ozempic to continue to reap the full benefits,” Jakob Mollerup explained.

Any decision to begin Ozempic or to move from another treatment must therefore be taken by a doctor after reviewing the patient’s medical history, health condition and individual needs.

“It could be a GLP-1 receptor agonist, it could be Ozempic, but it could also be other products,” the General Manager of Novo Nordisk Middle Africa stressed.

Educating healthcare professionals will naturally form a central part of Novo Nordisk’s strategy following the launch so as to ensure that doctors understand Ozempic’s clinical benefits, how the treatment should be administered, and the precautions that must be considered.

Supply, price, and demand

The launch of Ozempic in Mauritius takes place after strong global demand for semaglutide medicines periodically placed pressure on pharmaceutical supply chains. Geopolitical instability and conflict have created further concerns about the movement and availability of medicines.

Jakob Mollerup explained that Novo Nordisk had “gone to great lengths” to secure sufficient stock for the Mauritian market and reduce the likelihood of shortages. The company has placed Ozempic stock directly at pharmacy level and with its local distribution partner, IBL. Additional stock was being maintained outside Mauritius and could be dispatched when required.

“Forecasting and responding to the demand in the country is something that we are monitoring very carefully, and will continue to monitor very carefully,” he added.

The Ozempic pen is currently retailing in Mauritius at approximately MUR 6,300. Each pen contains four weekly injections, placing the calculated weekly treatment cost at around MUR 1,575.

Jakob Mollerup described the pricing as competitive compared with other semaglutide-related products already on the local market, as “Ozempic offers clinically proven benefits on glycaemic control, weight reduction, cardiovascular risk reduction and kidney protection. Ozempic is the only GLP-1 receptor agonist that comes with clinically proven benefits on all those four.”

The General Manager of Novo Nordisk Middle Africa said that the group was optimistic that the treatment would achieve broad adoption in Mauritius, given the country’s diabetes prevalence and the medicine’s uptake elsewhere.

Not just about sales

Commercial performance will be one measure of Ozempic’s progress in Mauritius, but Jakob Mollerup said Novo Nordisk would not judge the success of the launch solely through sales figures. “For us, it is also about changing the lives of patients,” he argued. “Some of the stories that give me the most satisfaction come from listening to doctors explaining how Ozempic has transformed the lives of their patients.” 

Novo Nordisk would still examine business opportunities and seek to develop its position in the market, but Jakob Mollerup described the company as patient-centred, explaining that “if we develop something that will benefit the patient, that will also eventually benefit the company.”

Part of a wider African rollout

Eventually, Novo Nordisk, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark – where Ozempic is partly produced – wants to bring its product to more customers in more places. The Mauritian launch forms part of the company’s expansion across what it defines as its Middle Africa region. The division covers sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho.

Ozempic was launched in Zimbabwe approximately two weeks before its introduction in Mauritius. Kenya was expected to follow, while entry into further markets would depend on regulatory approval from the relevant national health authorities.