What if a drug could effectively fight obesity? A new generation of weight loss products would indeed be studied with great hope by laboratories. Because obesity can be the cause of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers and complications such as in the case of Covid-19.
Difficult to treat, it is expensive for health systems. Its causes are not only related to lifestyle but can be influenced by genetics. If prevention and medical management do not improve, the World Obesity Federation predicts that by 2035, half (51%) of the world’s population will be overweight or obese. And according to his calculations, the global economic impact would be just as devastating: it could exceed $4 trillion a year.
From the first generation of weight loss treatments developed until the 1960s, obesity rates have steadily risen and research has also come a long way.
In addition to being effective against diabetes, the recent family of anti-obesity drugs leads to much greater weight loss than the drugs available until now and with less severe side effects (nausea, diarrhea). It also shows a benefit on cardiovascular risks. This therapeutic class mimics a hormone secreted by the intestines (GLP-1) to signal the brain to feel full after ingesting food.
Champions in this segment, the American Eli Lilly and the Danish Novo Nordisk saw their sales take off in the second quarter thanks to their increasingly popular molecules to stimulate weight loss. Stock market investors strongly appreciated.
Eli Lilly had scored a point at the end of April when he confirmed that his anti-diabetic blockbuster, marketed under the name of Mounjaro (tirzepatide), also contributed to weight loss (more than 15%).
Given the size of the market – 40% of adults suffer from obesity in the United States – a possible green light for Mounjaro by the end of the year, this time against obesity, by the American Agency drugs (FDA) would be a commercial boon for the group. Its Mounjaro sales approached $1 billion in the second quarter alone.
“The therapy is likely to prove to be a popular alternative to bariatric surgery, as Mounjaro is shown to cause equivalent weight loss,” said Akash Patel, pharmaceutical analyst at GlobalData.
For Novo Nordisk, the future looks just as bright: this week, a study showed that its obesity treatment, Wegovy (semaglutide), whose sales more than quadrupled in the second quarter, reduced the risk of obesity by 20%. ‘cardio vascular accident.
Potentially enough to convince insurers across the Atlantic to cover these treatments that respond to real health problems and not just the desire to lose weight.
But one of the main barriers to patient access to GLP-1 drugs is the cost, however, underlines the American Pharmacists Association, knowing that obesity must be monitored over the long term.
It costs more than $10,000 a year for this once-weekly subcutaneous injection.
A way to reduce this price but also to simplify the taking of the drug would be to develop tablets to be swallowed every day, according to experts. A path on which Novo Nordisk is well advanced in its clinical studies.
Eli Lilly and his compatriot Pfizer are also looking to develop this type of oral solution.
The stakes are high: according to Morgan Stanley, the global obesity treatment market could reach $54 billion by 2030.
Investors know it: the Solactive Obesity Index, which tracks the performance of companies positioned in obesity services, is trading at over $448 (as of August 11, 2023) from $100 in early 2011 .
