Weight-loss drugs: Who wants them to be low-cost and accessible to all
… The WHO’s new therapeutic guidelines—as reported by Politico—include a conditional recommendation for the use of so-called GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro. More specifically, the WHO described its recommendation as “conditional” due to the limited data on the long-term effectiveness and safety of GLP-1s.
Although GLP-1s are now an established treatment in high-income countries, the WHO fears they could reach less than 10% of the people who could benefit from them by 2030.
Obesity worldwide and in Italy
Among the countries with the highest obesity rates are those in the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Islands. Worldwide, 800 million people live with obesity, and that number is expected to grow—by 2035—to 1.9 billion, with an estimated economic impact of $4.32 trillion. According to the Italian Barometer Obesity Report 2024, published by the Ibdo Foundation and based on data from ISTAT and the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), 11.8% of Italy’s adult population suffers from obesity, up from 11.4% in 2022. 36.1% of adults are overweight, with a steady increase over the past ten years. The spread of obesity among children is particularly concerning: about 19% of children aged 8–9 are overweight and 9.8% are obese.
The WHO would like pharmaceutical companies to consider introducing tiered pricing (lower prices in low-income countries) and voluntary licensing of patents and technologies, enabling other manufacturers worldwide to produce GLP-1s and thereby expanding access to these medicines. Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s Chief Scientist, told Politico that the guidelines would also give “yellow and green light” to generic-drug manufacturers to produce cheaper versions of GLP-1s once patents expire.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories launches in India
Meanwhile, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, an Indian pharmaceutical company, has announced plans to introduce a generic, lower-cost version of Novo Nordisk’s hugely popular Wegovy in 87 countries next year. The announcement was made recently by CEO Erez Israeli. Dr. Reddy’s initially plans to launch the generic version of semaglutide—the active ingredient in Novo’s Wegovy and the diabetes drug Ozempic—in Canada, India, Brazil, Turkey and other emerging markets, subject to patent expiry. And the others? “The United States and Europe will open up later… and all other Western markets will become accessible between 2029 and 2033.”
