I recently learned about a new weight-loss drug that's been approved by the FDA. It's called called Wegovy (scientific name semaglutide). It began as a drug for diabetes called Ozempic. People taking Ozempic lost weight. So the drug company, Novo Nordisk, increased the drug's active ingredient and gave it a new name (Wegovy) and marketed it for weight loss. A clinical trial of Wegovy in 2018 showed that people lost an average of about 15 percent of their weight over 16 months.
Wegovy is a prescription
medicine for people who are obese (body mass index of 30 or more), or overweight
(body mass index of 27 or more). Incidentally, my body mass index is
approaching 27, indicating that you don’t have to be very fat to get a
prescription.
The drug, which you take by weekly injections, works by
mimicking a hormone that reduces appetite by signaling the brain to make the stomach
feel fuller. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but
apparently those effects diminish after a while. Insurance coverage has been
spotty, primarily because insurers view the drug’s purpose as cosmetic,
although this seems to be changing. For now, some consumers are paying as much
as $1,500 a month.
Doctor
Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis says “These really have had a
dramatic effect on body weight that we haven't seen before. Getting 15%, 20%
weight loss was very difficult to achieve with the previous medications.”
This is looking like a massive potential market. A July 2022 report from Morgan Stanley notes that obesity drugs are “set to become the next blockbuster pharma category.” The market could reach $54 billion by 2030. Maybe they should consider catchier names.
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thanks Connie. I had not known this very interesting. mind you I did get very lovely care for my wife in hospice.
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