Dilek Dogan Gurluk wants to know what Irish summers are like. The new general manager of Novo Nordisk\u2019s Irish operation arrived here just before Christmas and, like the rest of us, has barely seen the sun since. An unusually bright March morning on Dublin\u2019s St Stephen\u2019s Green has given her some hope. <\/p>\n
She is delighted to hear that it doesn\u2019t rain all year round \u2013 it can just seem that way. <\/p>\n
Working out of their corporate offices in Santry, Dogan Gurluk is responsible for the Danish pharma company\u2019s manufacturing plant in Athlone \u2013 where it will produce the new pill version of its blockbuster Wegovy weight management medication which has made Novo Nordisk a household name.<\/p>\n
It is in the business of developing and producing what are referred to as GLP-1s \u2013 drugs which replicate the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. The effect can be dramatic \u2013 bringing both type 2 diabetes and chronic weight problems under control.<\/p>\n
The drugs are designed to reduce appetite and slow the digestive process. Their impact has been so significant that food and drink producers around the world are beginning to worry about their sales volumes.<\/p>\n
The products have become a constant talking point across society with some high profile promoters \u2013 tennis star Serena Williams, talkshow legend Oprah Winfrey and British TV celebrity James Corden have all said they have taken GLP-1s to reduce their weight.<\/p>\n
Dogan Gurluk hates the term \u201cfat jabs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of opinion pieces in the newspapers. And when I look at some of the headlines, I see a lot of language about \u2018fat-jabs\u2019. This is just one example of how the stigma can come into place.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is this \u201cstigma\u201d around obesity that prevents patients in many public health systems getting the care that they need, she says. She compares it to the attitude that used to apply to mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a healthcare professional from Ireland; I was listening to a podcast from him. He mentioned that saying people should \u2018eat less, move more\u2019 \u2013 it is the equivalent of saying a person in depression should just smile. I agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Motivation<\/p>\n
For the 45-year-old, much of the motivation in joining Novo Nordisk lay in seeing the impact diabetes and obesity had on her family in Turkey.<\/p>\n
Having spent the majority of her life there, she is of Turkish-Dutch heritage \u2013 and moved to Amsterdam just over 10 years ago. English is her third language.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Turkey, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is even higher versus other parts of the world,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd my family is no exception. So many people in my family, like my father, my uncle, my aunts, my cousins \u2013 also my grandmother who raised me when I was a child \u2013 had type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, she didn\u2019t see her 70s. So that\u2019s why I have a personal drive to work in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n
When we meet, Dogan Gurluk is still clearly enthused by the previous day\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk is to invest over \u20ac400 million in its midlands operation in Athlone \u2013 an expansion that will create 600 construction jobs \u2013 and should secure the 400 or so positions there for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
The new oral treatment \u2013 which the company says has been taken by more than 500,000 Americans to date \u2013 is awaiting authorisation from the European Medicines Agency, the EU regulator. Athlone will produce that and other drugs for markets outside the US.<\/p>\n
The investment is obviously welcome in the area. <\/p>\n
It follows the disappointment of 2024 when the company decided against expanding its operation at Grange Castle in Clondalkin, Co Dublin. Widely anticipated, the so-called \u201cmega factory\u201d was set to employ 1,100 people and would have likely cost upwards of \u20ac1 billion in terms of overall investment.<\/p>\n
The deal to purchase the 85-acre site from South Dublin County Council, however, was abandoned and planning permission was withdrawn following an \u201cassessment\u201d by the company.<\/p>\n
At the time, it pointed to its recent purchase of the former Elan Drug Technologies site in Athlone from Alkermes as a sign of its overall commitment to operating in Ireland \u2013 but the loss of such a project was undoubtedly a big blow.<\/p>\n
Dogan Gurluk says Athlone \u201cticks a lot of boxes\u201d for the company. \u201cIf you open the map of Ireland, Athlone sits just in the middle of the country,\u201d she says, noting this makes it a good location for logistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hosts a technical university, which we are partnering deeply with. So we have access to the highly educated individuals there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is \u201cconfident\u201d that the operation will grow over time, adding to the existing employment there. This confidence comes, she says, from the scale of the health problems its drugs are developed to address.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are one billion people living with being overweight and obesity in the world now,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then if you look at diabetes, there are 800 million people living with diabetes in the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think the critical part is that 60-70 per cent of the people living with obesity have high blood pressure, they have high cholesterol or they have pain, chronic pain, like knee pain \u2013 their sleep is being impacted, their work being impacted, their productivity being impacted. They are having heart attacks or cardiovascular disease over time. So, the impact on public health is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite its innovative work and well-known brand names, tapping the weight gain market will not be all plain-sailing for Novo Nordisk, however. It is locked in fierce competition with another pharma company that also has a sizeable Irish presence \u2013 Eli Lilly.<\/p>\n
Its Zepbound weight-management drug is widely available and it, too, is readying a new oral treatment. The two companies have been depicted as engaged in a supply-chain war.<\/p>\n
The markets are unsure for now whether the Athlone investment will give the Danish company the edge.<\/p>\n
Share price<\/p>\n
The Novo Nordisk share price fell sharply earlier this year when it said sales and profit growth would decline this year \u2013 due to lower prices in the US and a loss of exclusivity for Wegovy and Ozempic \u2013 its diabetes version of the same medicine \u2013 in China, Brazil and Canada.<\/p>\n
The estimate that sales and profits would fall between 5 and 13 per cent was worse than analysts had expected. <\/p>\n
When the Athlone news was confirmed, the share price took another smaller dip \u2013 with pharma observers suggesting the markets didn\u2019t believe the new investment alone would be enough to meet demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI welcome all the competition here,\u201d says Dogan Gurluk. \u201cWe have very strong innovation in our pipeline. It\u2019s not only the oral GLP-1s, but many other assets that we are working on. We are investing in this field more than any other company out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this bringing us to the driver\u2019s seat? I think we will look at it. But once again we are a company that is investing for the long term, with our pipeline, with our commitments, like we did for diabetes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cultural impact of Ozempic and Wegovy is already widespread. Along with their competitors, the medicines have become \u2018water-cooler\u2019 conversation starters. Their initial success has come with plenty of scrutiny in the media.<\/p>\n
For example, an online search for \u201cOzempic face\u201d produces reams of commentary about the side effects of weight loss medications in general. The term refers to the sometimes gaunt appearance that comes with rapid weight loss.<\/p>\n
They have also been the focus of studies looking at \u201cweight regain\u201d that may occur when somebody stops taking the treatment. <\/p>\n
A study published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year found that people who stopped taking GLP-1s regained all the weight they had lost within two years. This, the authors concluded, was faster than among people who had undergone traditional, behavioural weight loss regimes.<\/p>\n
Dogan Gurluk is very clear that these are medications that people will take for the long haul. She compares them to blood pressure drugs.<\/p>\n
She says there needs to be a discussion about how a GLP-1 is a \u201cmedicinal product which regulates your hormones\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not discussing with people that when they stop taking blood pressure drugs, their blood pressure goes (back) to the same levels. We never discuss that when people who are using cholesterol-managing products stop, the cholesterol goes back up. This is biologic.<\/p>\n
\u201cObesity is a disease. It must be treated. That\u2019s why we are also working with governments to provide sustainable access to the people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cost<\/p>\n
And then there is the issue of cost. Given that they need to be taken for a sustained period, are they likely to become more affordable?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working on it. We are taking initiatives,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are one billion people living with obesity in the world. In Ireland, 60 per cent of the population. We may not expect that the Government can cover such a cost for a long time. We are working with them to improve access. We need to collaborate as individuals together with society as well, because the burden is so big. It will come eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dogan Gurluk has been living in Ireland for just over three months, having moved from Amsterdam before Christmas. In addition to adjusting to the shock of the recent bad weather, she has also had time to digest what life is like here for a foreign worker.<\/p>\n
For over a decade, multinational companies have raised concerns about the lack of housing and public infrastructure, worries that have been repeated by the inward investment body IDA Ireland. Does she believe Ireland is an expensive place to live and work relative to her previous stints elsewhere?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m the wrong person to ask,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m coming from Amsterdam. So when you compare, I believe that Dublin is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says the capital has the same housing issues that many other big cities do and has been impacted in similar ways by the inflation that followed the pandemic. \u201cBut in many aspects, it\u2019s quite cost effective,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe [cost of living] is high, but I\u2019m not finding it exceptional compared to the other big cities like Amsterdam or Copenhagen or London. Because Dublin, I think, operates at the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, she appears to agree with the talking points pushed by the State agencies when it comes to marketing Ireland as an investment location.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am positively surprised about many things that I am seeing in Ireland. Maybe I\u2019m in a kind of honeymoon phase. I don\u2019t know. But let\u2019s look at the facts. <\/p>\n
\u201cIreland is the only English-speaking country in the euro zone, right? And it\u2019s a huge, big pharmaceutical hub. And when you look at the workforce, it\u2019s a highly educated, responsible group of individuals working here. So I\u2019m amazed with what I\u2019ve seen so far.\u201d <\/p>\n
Dogan Gurluk is speaking before the publication of research in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, showing Wegovy may carry higher risk of sudden sight loss compared to its other GLP-1 products with the same active ingredient.<\/p>\n
The study may have implications for dosing and usage levels. In response, the company said that patient safety was its top priority and it took any reports about adverse events \u201cvery seriously\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the time of writing, Novo Nordisk is still awaiting authorisation for its oral treatment here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to have had it yesterday,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
She notes that the green light was given \u201cquite quickly\u201d in the US but she adds that one unified regulatory body in Europe does \u201cmake things easier\u201d in general.<\/p>\n
Perhaps understandably, Dogan Gurluk is not keen to get into the details of the approach taken by Donald Trump to the pharma market \u2013 or the current geopolitical turmoil. Instead, she says the company will concentrate on what it can do best and how best to serve its customer base.<\/p>\n
Having grown up in Turkey, she will be keenly aware of what is happening across the border in Iran, having lived through similar crises there as a child and younger person.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking at the recent past. We had corona [Covid], we had many things. It is no different from 20 years ago either. We are focused on improving the things we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Domestically, she takes great hope from the framework agreement on the supply and pricing of medicines agreed in recent weeks and says it shows a commitment to innovation here. She also sees good things for the company in the EU\u2019s strategy for life sciences.<\/p>\n
The Government has been \u201cquite collaborative and open\u201d to date, she says. \u201cThere are many things to believe in a bright future as well. I\u2019m sorry to say I\u2019m one of the optimists.\u201d<\/p>\n
CV<\/p>\n
Name: Dilek Dogan Gurluk.<\/p>\n
Age: 45.<\/p>\n
Position: General manager, Novo Nordisk Ireland.<\/p>\n
Family: Married with a daughter, a cat and a dog.<\/p>\n
Something you might expect: As a newcomer, she has been incredibly impressed with the warmth, collaboration and sharp wit of Irish people. <\/p>\n
Something that might surprise: How personal this work feels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dilek Dogan Gurluk wants to know what Irish summers are like. The new general manager of Novo Nordisk\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,1702,61,60,10416,4369,4370,14955],"class_list":["post-356109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-diabetes","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-novo-nordisk","tag-obesity","tag-ozempic","tag-wegovy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}