STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a WHO plan to back obesity drugs, a big win for Novo Nordisk, and more
The World Health Organization plans to officially back the use of weight loss drugs to treat obesity in adults for the first time
Top of the morning to you, and a fine one it is. Clear blue skies and pleasant breezes are wafting across the Pharmalot campus, where the official mascots are foraging for their breakfast and rousing the neighbors. This means we are free to focus on the matters at hand — rummaging through our to-do list and making cups of stimulation. Our choice today is lavender vanilla. Sounds appetizing, yes? As always, we invite you to join us. Meanwhile, here is the latest menu of tidbits to help you get started on your journey. We hope that your day is simply smashing and that you conquer the world. And of course, do keep in touch. We appreciate suggestions, criticism, and saucy tips. …
The World Health Organization plans to officially back the use of weight loss drugs to treat obesity in adults for the first time, marking a shift in its approach to treating the global health problem, Reuters reports. The agency also called for strategies to improve access to the treatment in low- and middle-income countries. More than a billion people now have obesity worldwide, according to the WHO, and around 70% of them live in low- and middle-income countries, the World Bank estimates. The WHO’s conditional recommendation will be officially released in August, as part of new guidelines on treating obesity. It is also working on separate guidelines for children and adolescents. Separately, WHO experts will also meet next week to decide whether to include the GLP-1 drugs in the agency’s essential medicines list — both to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Novo Nordisk secured a major win on insurance coverage of its obesity drug, STAT notes. CVS Caremark, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., announced that starting in July, Novo’s weight loss treatment Wegovy will be the preferred GLP-1 medicine on its largest commercial formularies, likely making Wegovy more accessible to patients than Zepbound, a rival drug from Eli Lilly. The obesity market has been dominated by the two companies, and in recent months, investors were viewing Lilly as having an edge, with Zepbound leading to greater weight loss than Wegovy and with Lilly having what looks to be more promising injectable and oral candidates in its pipeline. But the CVS news is a significant step for Novo, as both companies have been trying to broaden insurance coverage, a key hurdle for wider usage.
