In a care center for obese or overweight people in Pirae, on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, in September 2021 (AFP/Archives/Suliane FAVENNEC)
Miracle cure for obesity? A new generation of drugs for weight loss raises many hopes to fight against this global health calamity from which laboratories and investors are already reaping many profits.
Obesity is a chronic disease risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, 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 care 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 4,000 billion dollars 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.
– New options –
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 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 from Mounjaro by the end of the year, this time against obesity, by the American Agency for 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.
– Strong demand –
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 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 Association of Pharmacists, knowing that obesity must be monitored over the long term.
It costs more than 10,000 dollars a year for this subcutaneous injection administered once a week.
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 stock market obesity index (solactive obesity index), which tracks the performance of companies positioned in services for obese people, is trading at more than 448 dollars (as of 08/11/2023) against 100 dollars early 2011.
© 2023 AFP
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