The FDA is considering approving a new weight-loss drug that promises to revolutionize the industry

The new drug would be the most effective on the market so far for weight loss (Shutterstock)

The laboratory Eli Lilly He has already delivered all the documentation and research about the medication tirzepatida to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and hopes to receive approval very soon.

According to the laboratory, clinical trials have shown that the drug is very effective for weight loss. As is the case with two other drugs already available on the market (Wegovy y Saxenda, both from the Novo Nordisk laboratory), is a GLP-1 agonist medication, which mimics a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite. But unlike the other two drugs already available, tirzepatide also mimics a second hormone, GIP, which may help improve the breakdown of sugars and fats.

In a phase three clinical trial, Eli Lilly found that a high dose of tirzepatide helped patients lose an average of 22.5 percent of their body weight, far higher than the 15 and 5 percent that the patients who took Wegovy and Saxenda.

The Eli Lilly laboratory submitted clinical trials of the drug to the FDA for approval. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

The three drugs are already approved in lower doses for the treatment of diabetes, but putting them at the service of the fight against obesity can radically change the treatment of this disease. The problem is that obesity still carries a social stigmaand many insurances will not be willing to cover this medicine, which is expensive.

It is estimated that the cost of tirzepatide will be around $1,100 per month, a value that few people can afford if it is not covered by insurance. According to calculations made by experts on Wall Street, if this drug is approved it could break the record of 48 billion dollars in annual saleswidely doubling the previous record of $20.7 billion sold in one year for the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, from AbbVie, in 2021.

Obesity is considered a chronic disease

Obesity is considered a chronic disease, and therefore those who enter this type of drug treatment are likely to have to take it for life. That is why the key will be that the insurance covers it. From some universities, such as the one in New York, federal legislators are being asked to regulate the issue from Congress so as not to leave it to the discretion of private insurance companies.

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