2023-11-08 18:28:00
American health authorities announced on Wednesday that they had approved a highly anticipated drug from the American group Eli Lilly against obesity, the latest entrant into a market that has become major for the pharmaceutical industry.
The treatment, which will be marketed under the name Zepbound in the United States, is administered by injection once a week.
The molecule used was already approved against diabetes, but sometimes already prescribed outside of official recommendations by certain doctors for weight loss, given its effectiveness.
In a large clinical trial, Zepbound was shown to provide significant weight loss, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement.
“Obesity and overweight are serious health problems, which can be linked to some major causes of death, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke or diabetes,” said John Sharretts, director of a branch dedicated to the obesity within the FDA.
Zepbound is now authorized for obese people on the one hand, and for those who are overweight and at the same time suffering from a related health problem (type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension), on the other. go.
Its use should be combined with exercise and a low-calorie diet, specifies the FDA.
The American agency warns against possible side effects: nausea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, etc.
The price was set by Eli Lilly at $1,060 per month, the American company said in a statement, which expects the treatment to be available in the country “by the end of the year.” .
This expensive price, similar to that of treatments in the same class, poses a problem of access for patients, because drugs against obesity are frequently not reimbursed by health insurance in the United States.
“Broader access to these medicines is crucial,” Mike Mason, an executive at the company, said in a statement. “That’s why Lilly is committed to working with healthcare, government and industry partners to ensure that people who can benefit from Zepbound can have access to it.”
Infatuation
This drug belongs to a new generation of treatments, mimicking a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1) which activates receptors in the brain playing a role in regulating appetite.
According to an analysis by JP Morgan, GLP-1 analogues represent a market worth $140 billion by 2032, which will remain dominated by Eli Lilly and the Danish laboratory Novo Nordisk.
Eli Lilly’s molecule, tirzepatide, was already marketed under the name Mounjaro for people suffering from type 2 diabetes, since FDA authorization in 2022.
Novo Nordisk uses a molecule called semaglutide, authorized against obesity in the United States since 2021 under the name Wegovy.
Its diabetes counterpart, authorized since 2017 and called Ozempic, has recently experienced periodic stock shortages, after causing a furor on social networks for its weight-loss properties.
This craze raises fears that people who are not clearly overweight will misuse it to lose a few pounds. For them, the risks associated with these drugs cannot be counterbalanced by the benefits gained for the health of obese people.
A recent study looking at several of these drugs, including Ozempic, showed that they increased the risk of gastrointestinal problems (intestinal obstruction, etc.).
Another problem pointed out by experts is that these treatments must be taken over the long or even very long term, otherwise the weight lost will be regained.
In the United States, approximately 40% of adults suffer from obesity.
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