A new generation of weight-loss drugs raises great hopes for fighting this global health scourge from which laboratories and investors are already making huge profits.
Obesity is a chronic disease that may cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some types of cancer, and complications in the event of an infection such as Covid. Since they are difficult to treat, they are costly to health systems. Its causes are not only related to lifestyle, but may also be due to genetic factors.
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If prevention is not strengthened and medical care is not improved, the International Obesity Federation predicts that half (51%) of the world’s population (51%) will be overweight or obese by 2035.
According to his calculations, the global economic impact would be just as devastating, as it could exceed $4,000 billion annually.
From the first generation of weight loss therapies developed until the 1960s, obesity rates have risen steadily, and research has advanced.
New options
In addition to their effectiveness against diabetes, modern anti-obesity drugs contribute to a much greater weight loss than the available drugs, with less severe side effects (nausea and diarrhea). They also show benefit in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
These drugs mimic a hormone secreted by the gut (GLP-1) that tells the brain that you are full after eating.
The American “Eli Lilly” and the Danish “Novo Nordisk” pharmaceutical groups saw their sales increase in the second quarter, thanks to their increasingly popular weight loss stimulating drugs.
In April, Eli Lilly confirmed that its anti-diabetic product, Monjaro (tirzepatide), also contributed to weight loss (more than 15%).
Given the size of the market in the United States, where 40% of adults suffer from obesity, the issuance of a possible green light by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of the year to market this drug to combat obesity this time, will be a commercial push for the group, after its sales nearly reached From “Monjaro” billion dollars in the second quarter alone.
“The treatment will undoubtedly be offered as an alternative to bariatric surgery, as Monjaro contributed to weight loss at the same level,” said Akash Patel, analyst at GlobalData.
Strong request
For the Novo Nordisk Group, the future looks bright. A study this week showed that the obesity treatment Wegovi (semaglutide), whose sales increased more than fourfold in the second quarter, reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease.
And that may be enough to convince insurance companies across the Atlantic to cover these treatments, which respond to real health problems, not just a desire to lose weight.
But “one of the main barriers to patient access to GLP-1 drugs is cost,” said the American Association of Pharmacists.
The price of these injections, which are given under the skin once a week, is more than $10,000 annually.
Among the means that would reduce the cost and simplify the administration of the drug, the development of tablets to be taken by mouth daily. It is a path in which Novo Nordisk is progressing in its clinical studies.
Eli Lilly and Pfizer are developing similar solutions.
