The global obesity epidemic has prompted significant interest and investment in developing and marketing obesity drugs. With millions worldwide struggling to manage their weight, it’s no surprise that pharmaceutical companies see this as a potentially lucrative market. However, the question arises: Is the market for obesity drugs overvalued? Several factors suggest caution is warranted when evaluating the prospects of obesity drugs.
Weight Loss Drugs
New drugs used for weight loss may also reduce the risks of heart attacks. A pharma company wants Medicare to cover the drugs, but a federal ban prevents Medicare from covering weight loss drugs. Should they be covered?
The headlines stated that Lilly’s new weight loss pill provided exceptional clinical trial results. Still, we must determine whether patients exercised and followed a diet while taking the product. I had a chance to review some results of a recent ad board, which indicated that there may be some troubling trends behind the hype.
More than 18 weight loss drugs are in development because drug companies know that the market is worth billions of dollars even though insurance companies are still debating their coverage for weight loss. It’s going to be a knockout, drag-down battle.
Mounjaro, already on the market to treat Type 2 diabetes in the U.S., is going head to head with Novo’s drug. The stakes are enormous in need, expected to be over $30 billion by 2030, according to analysts at Cowen Inc. Novo Nordisk was projected to capture the largest share, with Wegovy sales topping $7 billion, but if Lilly’s head-to-head trials turn out well Mounjaro, and Lilly, could be huge winners.
Patients hear misinformation on new weight loss drugs from social media influencers, but they often aren’t getting ALL the information they should know. Regulatory systems are most interested in pharma’s claims, not necessarily those of doctors or their enthused patients. Should the FDA do something?
Some doctors, psychologists, and eating disorder experts worry the new weight loss medications, originally developed to treat diabetes, could become a problem long-term. Most people are likely to regain lost weight if they don’t keep taking the drugs for life, and the psychological toll of that rebound could be damaging, psychologists predict. Even weight loss companies like Jenny Craig wonder if the drugs could be bad or good for business.
The next generation of drugs is coming and coming on strong. The first is Mounjaro, a diabetes drug from Lilly that the FDA is expected to approve for weight loss this year. One study led to 20 percent or more weight loss in up to 57 percent of people who took the highest dose; The Wall Street Journal recently called it the “King Kong” of weight-loss drugs. The market for weight loss drugs is about to become very crowded.