// January
In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended weight-loss drugs for kids aged 12+. Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide might become a top-selling drug, but its high cost and side effects are concerning. These drugs can make users look older. Affordability and side effects affect access.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on Monday recommended use of weight-loss drugs in children ages 12 years or older for treatment of obesity, which impacts about 14.4 million kids and adolescents in the United States and can lead to serious health complications.
An Eli Lilly drug if approved for weight loss could become the best-selling drug of all time, but concerns are mounting about who will actually be able to afford it.
Demand for popular weight-loss drugs, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, remains high, but some patients on the drugs are now discovering an unwanted side effect: facial aging, Amy Synnott writes for the New York Times.
// February
In January, Eli Lilly resolved Mounjaro diabetes drug shortages, and Novo Nordisk’s obesity medication Wegovy rebounded from supply issues. Novo is optimistic about the GLP-1 market’s growth in 2023.
After an FDA approval last year, Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro has been on fire right out of the gate. Now, the Indianapolis pharma giant says it's resolved a months-long shortage.
For all of 2022, Rybelsus sales more than doubled to 11.29 million Danish kroner (about $1.7 billion), making the drug Novo’s second-largest growth driver after Ozempic, Camilla Sylvest, Novo’s head of commercial strategy and corporate affairs, said on a call with investors Wednesday.
Last week, I asked readers, “What are your thoughts … about weight gain, the weight-loss industry, diet, exercise, beauty standards, diabetes, medical treatments for obesity, or anything related?”
// March
In April, Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drug VK2735 showed promising phase 1 results, leading to a nearly 70% stock price increase.
The company reported Tuesday that its dual GLP-1/GIP agonist, VK2735, was safe and effective in a phase 1 trial testing single and multiple ascending doses of the med. Viking found that patients treated with VK2735 in the multiple ascending dose cohort reported up to 6% reductions in mean body weight compared with placebo. Viking says it plans to launch a phase 2 trial for patients with obesity by the middle of the year.
// April
In April, Lilly sold its emergency diabetes drug, Baqsimi, to Amphastar for $500 million, allowing Lilly to focus on core diabetes drugs.
While Lilly hasn’t engaged in as much so-called “externalization” activities as fellow drugmakers AstraZeneca or Pfizer, in recent years it has spun off its animal health division into the free-standing company Elanco and sold off the skin drug Qbrexza to Journey Medical.
// May
In May, Novo Nordisk had Wegovy supply issues, Boehringer Ingelheim reported promising obesity drug data, Innovent showed strong weight loss results, and a Senate hearing on insulin costs yielded no clear solutions.
A Senate hearing on high insulin costs billed as a blockbuster showdown with drugmakers and middlemen turned out to be a familiar case of political theater that appeared to satisfy no one.
Boehringer Ingelheim has teased the obesity data that emboldened it to start gearing up for phase 3. Recipients of the Zealand Pharma-partnered prospect lost up to 14.9% of their weight after 46 weeks, but the data released so far make it hard to say how Boehringer compares to Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
U.S. supply of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy will be “reduced temporarily,” the company said Thursday, revealing the latest setback to a launch that’s been slowed by manufacturing issues over the last year and a half.
// June
Obesity drug development has quickly become one of the most competitive areas of biopharmaceutical research, with Lilly, Novo Nordisk and a group of would-be rivals racing for dominance of a market some analysts estimate to be worth more than $100 billion globally.
Like many of its peers, Pfizer is investing heavily in drugs for obesity, having brought two similar medicines known as GLP-1 agonists into mid-stage testing.
// July
In July, European regulators probed suicide risks with Novo’s Saxenda and Ozempic, while Novo Nordisk faced supply shortages of Saxenda due to surging demand, driven by Wegovy supply issues.
The Icelandic drug agency reported two cases of suicide “ideation,” one from a person taking Saxenda, a daily weight-loss shot containing liraglutide, and another on Ozempic, the weekly diabetes shot containing semaglutide that is also widely used for weight loss. A third person had thoughts of self-injury while taking Saxenda, the EMA said.
After Novo Nordisk’s popular obesity medicine Wegovy went into short supply, people turned to the company’s first-generation weight-loss drug, Saxenda, for treatment. Now, the company is struggling to handle demand for that product.
// August
In August, digital health firms aimed to partner with payers and employers in the obesity drug market. A survey showed public interest in weight loss drugs but decreased if not covered by insurance. Most people believed insurers should cover these drugs, but trust in pharmaceutical pricing was low. Many were unaware of recent legislation addressing prescription drug costs.
Eli Lilly bumped up its full-year forecast after the company exceeded revenue expectations in the second quarter. Profit jumped 85% from the same period a year ago, with shares up 9% in premarket trading Tuesday morning on the news.
About half of adults, or 45%, said they are at least somewhat interested in taking a “safe, effective weight-loss drug.” However, just 16% of adults are still interested in taking weight-loss drugs if they’re not covered by insurance. In addition, KFF found that only 14% of adults are still interested in taking the drugs if they heard they could gain weight back after going off the drug, 16% would be interested if it wasn’t approved by the FDA for weight loss but was approved for another use, 23% would be interested if it was self-administered as a weekly injection and 44% would be interested if it could be taken as a pill.
Researchers at Emory University have validated a deep learning (DL) model capable of detecting early warning signs of diabetes using routinely collected chest radiographs and electronic health record data (EHR) in patients who do not meet the guidelines for elevated risk.
To much of the public, the promise of telehealth is all about convenience — get the prescription you need quickly, and get it delivered right to your door. But as digital health companies build out their weight loss businesses, capitalizing on the popularity of drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, they’re courting a very different audience: payers and employers who have a vested interest in preventing quick scripts.
// September
In September, advances in obesity treatment, cell therapy manufacturing, and the expanding weight-loss medication market were prominent. Efforts to broaden insurance coverage for weight-loss prescriptions gained momentum, highlighting the growing significance of obesity treatment.
In their most recent earnings report, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly proved why they are the undisputed heavyweights in the prizefight for control of the rapidly growing weight-loss medications market. Beyond staggering sales figures for Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Lilly’s Mounjaro, news of a study showing Wegovy can reduce the risk of heart disease and the anticipated approval of even more powerful prescription drugs to treat obesity will only strengthen the position of these venerable pharmaceutical giants, which have been in business for 100 years and 147 years, respectively.
Cell therapies are viewed as potential one-time treatments able to cure or at least reduce the burden of disease in chronic or fatal conditions. Emily Whitehead, who, in 2012, became the first pediatric leukemia patient given the cancer-fighting CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah, has been in remission since her treatment.
Phenomix Sciences, a precision medicine biotechnology company that brings data-driven precision medicine to obesity treatment, announced it has been awarded the first patent related to its obesity phenotyping technology.
// October
In October, GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic gained attention for their potential in treating kidney and heart diseases. This shift has implications for the healthcare industry. Weight loss startup Calibrate restructured due to GLP-1 drug shortages and customer frustrations, highlighting industry changes.
Weight loss startup Calibrate is changing hands amid worsening customer frustrations and a sweeping shortage of GLP-1 drugs. Insider first reported the news after two of the startup’s employees told the publication that the plan had been announced via Slack message on Friday. A spokesperson for Calibrate confirmed the restructuring via email on Monday.
Ozempic is arguably the world’s most famous drug, a diabetes treatment turned miracle weight-loss cure that’s rocketed up the sales chart despite supply constraints. This may be only the beginning.
Sana Biotechnology, a company that raised more than $1 billion to develop a suite of breakthrough medicines, is laying off about a third of its workforce and setting aside one of its most ambitious projects.
// November
In November, GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Zepbound and Ozempic led to concerns among medical device firms. AstraZeneca entered the obesity market, and Novo Nordisk adjusted production due to shortages. The weight loss market is growing, but holistic approaches are still necessary.
Unable to scale up its manufacturing fast enough to meet the spiraling demand for its GLP-1 weight loss products, Novo Nordisk is employing a new strategy—reducing production of diabetes drug Victoza to make more Ozempic.
GLP-1s are making headlines and are in high demand for their ability to help people lose weight, with five million prescriptions written in 2022. For many people who’ve struggled with obesity, they represent a transformational clinical advance. But what happens if the meds are no longer taken, whether due to high cost or side effects? The weight often comes back, sometimes with a vengeance. Any siloed approach to weight loss – whether it’s medication, behavioral changes, or surgery – is not the answer. Instead, what’s needed is a multimodal and holistic approach. Such a sustainable weight loss model does what an injection alone cannot do – keep the weight off and support a person’s overall health.
AstraZeneca has signed an exclusive license agreement with Shanghai-based biotech Eccogene for ECC5004, an early-stage investigational oral glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist that is being developed for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a powerful new medicine for weight loss, clearing Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for adults with obesity or who are overweight and have at least one related health condition.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a powerful new medicine for weight loss, clearing Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for adults with obesity or who are overweight and have at least one related health condition.
// December
In December, the FDA formed the Genetic Metabolic Diseases Advisory Committee, and Roche acquired Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion, securing assets in the weight-loss market, including CT-388, a potential obesity treatment.
The FDA on Tuesday announced it is establishing a new advisory committee that will discuss and evaluate potential treatments for genetic metabolic diseases which disrupt the body’s metabolism.
Roche on Monday announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Berkeley, California-based Carmot Therapeutics, a move that could place it in the thick of the lucrative and increasingly competitive weight-loss market.