Washington — According to an American study of health claims that was made public to Reuters, medications like Wegovy may help you lose weight, but they won't lower your medical expenses.
The average total cost of care for obese patients in the United States two years after starting Novo Nordisk's Wegovy or comparable GLP-1 medications rose to $18,507. This entails a 46% increase in the average annual cost of $12,695 prior to using the medication, according to data provided by Prime Therapeutics, a manager of beneficial pharmaceuticals.
The costs for a control group of patients who did not take their medications increased by 14% throughout the same time period.
Prescription drugs were the main reason for the increase in costs for GLP-1 patients, while medical expenses included they rose over the course of two years.
Over two years, the investigation revealed "no reduction in obesity-related medical events," such as heart attacks, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes diagnoses, or usage of prescription medicines for hypertension and high cholesterol, when compared to the control group.
Novo and rival Eli Lilly, which manufactures the GLP-1 weight-loss medicine Zepbound, have made billions of dollars in revenues since their new treatments entered the U.S. market, despite only a fraction of an estimated 100 million obese individuals having taken them.
They claim that using their drugs will save society money by easing many of the health issues associated with obesity.
However, many employers and healthcare providers in the United States are hesitant to provide assistance for these powerful but expensive medications due to the significant initial cost and uncertainty about potential future returns.
"The impact on the budget here is concerning for many public and private entities," stated Ben Ippolito, economist at the American Enterprise Institute. "What distinguishes estos medicamentos es la magnitud de su posible demanda."
According to some economists, the market for weight loss medications might reach $150 billion per year in the coming decade.
"Sabemos que el tratamiento de la obesidad está vinculado a mejoras en los resultados médicos, incluso si los funcionarios no han determinado cómo registrar estos ahorros," the company said in a statement. Lilly did not answer a petition.
Not "totally concluyentes."Prime Therapeutics examined pharmacy and medical insurance data from 3,046 individuals with commercial health plans that cover GLP-1 medications. Between January and December 2021, all participants received new GLP-1 prescriptions and were diagnosed with obesity or a BMI higher than 30.
In the study, 46% of the patients used Novo's Ozempic or Wegovy, two types of semaglutide that are administered by injection. Others take older Novo medications, such as Saxenda or Victoza, which include liraglutide, Rybelsus, an oral version of semaglutide, or Lilly's Trulicity (dulaglutide).
The researchers did not record the prolonged use of Lilly's GLP-1 medications, Mounjaro and Zepbound (both tirzepatide), which began after the study began.
First, they did not include patients with diabetes in their medical declarations or those who were taking medications for type 2 diabetes, for which these medications were first developed. The average age of the study's patients was 46 years old, and 81% of them were female.
The study's co-author, Patrick Gleason, assistant vice president of health results at Prime, stated that because of the expense and lack of reduction in medical costs, companies and insurers should be willing to pay an additional $11,200 per patient receiving GLP-1 medications for obesity during the first two years of treatment.
I stated that the estimate includes the rebates from the drug manufacturers for certain medications, but not all rebates.
According to Reuters, just one out of four patients who were prescribed Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss continued to take the medications two years later.
According to David Lassen, Vice President of Prime Therapeutics Pharmacy Clinical Services, it might be challenging to replicate the health benefits seen in clinical trials due to a lack of patients adhering to their prescriptions.
"At present, I do not consider it completely conclusive," said Lassen to Reuters, indicating that three years of data may be required to estimate the economic impact.
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