Ozempic is becoming old news

Suddenly Ozempic is everywhere. The weight loss drug it contains, semaglutide, is a powerful treatment for obesity, and Hollywood and his TikTok celebrities have turned semaglutide into a sensation. In just a few months, the drug “revolutionary” and “change the gameIt has the power to change society forever.” Obesity and thinness conceptIndeed, a drug like semaglutide could have all of these things. No drug in the history of medicine has so safely led so many people to such dramatic weight loss.

But let’s not go too far. As weight loss drugs go, Ozempic is far from perfect. This drug has serious implications, but it does require weekly injections, tolerance for unpleasant side effects, and stamina for long-term treatment (not to mention budget). is required. (Ozempic has somehow become a catch-all term for semaglutide, but technically, that product has FDA approval only for diabetes. Doses are approved for weight loss.)

Semaglutide, made by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, currently dominates the US weight-loss market, but that dominance may be short-lived. The enormous demand for these drugs has created a race in the pharmaceutical industry to develop even stronger and stronger drugs. The first of them could be available this summer. Despite the hype, semaglutide is a stepping stone, not the final destination for a new class of anti-obesity drugs. How good and how fast they get will go a long way in determining whether or not this pharmaceutical revolution actually lives up to its promise.

In some ways, semaglutide is not a big scientific breakthrough. Diet pills are nothing new, and even the category of drugs to which these new products belong, called “GLP-1 agonists,” has been around for several years. These drugs mimic the hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) and bind to its receptors in the body. (It also increases insulin secretion and controls blood sugar levels. This is why Ozempic is still intended as a diabetes drug.) (That’s why we do.) Already, these medicines have improved over time. liraglutide Marketed as Saxenda, approved by the FDA for obesity in 2014, in most cases it leads to a loss of 5-10 percent of a person’s body weight. one of at most 20 percent“Now, with injections once a week instead of daily, we see dramatic improvements and people notice more,” says Bariatrics, president of the Obesity Medical Association and director of Obesity Care Start. said Angela Fitch, chief medical officer of Knowwell told me.

However, not everyone taking these drugs can achieve that level of weight loss. over 60 percent of them Wegovy experiences only small changes because drugs cannot account for the complexities of obesity. unrelated to foodThe next generation of medicines demands more.The first leap was Munjaro, commonly known as tirzepatide, Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug, which the FDA approved Be expected Approve the weight loss for this year. In one study, it led to weight loss of up to 20% or more. 57% of peoplee who took the highest dose; of wall street journal Recently called it “king kongof weight loss drugs. Keith Tapper, a biotech analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said Mounjaro people tended to lose weight faster than Wegovy people and generally had a “better experience.” At about $980 for the option, it’s not cheap, but it’s cheaper, he said. About Wegovy Dosage $1,350.

These potency leaps occur at the molecular level. Like semaglutide, Munjaro mimics the effects of her GLP-1, but also acts on receptors for another hormone, her GIP. This can lead to even less focus on eating and increased activity of fat-burning enzymes, which can lead to even more weight loss, says Tupper. So-called dual-agonist medications “provide gradual changes” in both weight loss and blood sugar control, he added.

And if so many other receptors are involved in regulating hunger, why stop at just two? “There is an explosion in terms of research and testing of different combinations of hormones,” said Eli Lilly, who has another drug in development. Targets 3 receptorsone drug company, Amgen, works by “putting the brakes on” the GIP receptor and “gassing” the GLP-1 receptor, a company spokesperson told me. Several companies have already joined. offal dubbing Tupper said it was a “race” to develop the next great obesity drug, with Lilly, Pfizer, Amgen, Structure Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics expected to be frontrunners. .

Potency of a weight-loss drug is not the only factor determining the shape of its future trajectory. Wegovy and Mounjaro injections are well tolerated by most people, but they are not as convenient as tablets. However, creating an oral version of these drugs is not as simple as stuffing everything into a capsule.Semaglutide is a molecule that is chewed in the stomach. For this reason, Rybelsus, a semaglutide tablet already approved for diabetes, leads to much less dramatic weight loss than similar injectables. However, drug companies will not be deterred by this complication, as an even more potent tablet than semaglutide will undoubtedly win more customers. In January, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourra said: Said He believes oral weight loss drugs will “unlock the market” and is ultimately worth $90 billion.Pfizer doesn’t have a weight-loss drug yet, but it’s in development GLP-1 agonist pill twice daily; to Eli Lilly, Oral version in progressTapper expects these drugs to be available in 2026. Similar offerings Releases from Structure Therapeutics are likely to follow next year.

Pharmaceutical companies will also fight to create drugs with fewer side effects.Novo Nordisk Note Gastrointestinal problems are common with semaglutide. Reports of severe nausea, constipation and vomiting are surging online.as an actor put it To new york metersAccording to the magazine, people at Ozempic are “scratching their heads”. More serious problems such as pancreatitis, thyroid cancer, and kidney failure can also occur with Wegovy, but are considered rare. Nothing to scoff at, but side effects tend to subside with long-term treatment and can usually be managed with the help of a doctor, both Fitch and Levy, who regularly prescribe semaglutide to obese patients, say. Levy added that people experiencing truly horrifying effects may be getting their medication from shady dispensing pharmacies or other countries.

The fact that people are turning to sketchy outlets to get weight loss drugs highlights their biggest problem: access.Medicare and most private insurance companies do not cover anti-obesity drugs. Categorized as “Cosmetics” “We expect more competition and lower prices,” Fitch told me. But there is no guarantee that it will happen.Competition usually makes products cheaper over time, but research suggests This is not always the case with pharmaceuticalsEven if drugs get cheaper, they may not be cheap enough. Oral forms of these drugs could be available in parts by 2026 and are expected to cost about $500 a month, Tupper said. Recent studies show that by 2030, the cost of obesity drugs could drop to about $350 per month. Morgan Stanley analysiswhich is still out of reach for many Americans.

Levy predicts that there will be a “big explosion” of next-generation obesity drugs in the next five years. The market would then expand to accommodate a wide variety of drugs with varying price points and potencies. Some people aim to lose 20% or more of their weight. Some people are content with less. The market is so diverse that it is likely to “support a wide range of choices,” says Tupper. opens up possibilities.

No matter how much the cost of these drugs decreases, they will always add up if people are paying for them out of their own pocket. They are meant to be taken long term: people tend to lose weight when they stop taking Wegovy. I will back soonThe current crop of weight-loss drugs are maintenance drugs in nature, much like the cholesterol-busting drug Lipitor, which is taken daily to treat long-term illness. are generally covered by insurance. Unless an anti-obesity drug receives the same kind of coverage, it will not provide the level of improvement that Ozempic currently promises us.