Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Yahoo Finance that ‘…a bet on Lilly is to bet we can keep on inventing new things, not just sell the ones we’ve invented.’
Noom announced a partnership with Liviniti, a national pass-through and transparent PBM, for plan sponsors and their employees.
Reuters sees pharma execs from Amgen to Pfizer plotting to break into the lucrative obesity market by developing or cutting deals to acquire better drugs.
Researchers from Melbourne, Australia published in JAMA Network Open on over six hundred thousand adolescents and found over 6% had used a weight-loss product in the past year, being higher among girls than boys.
Newsweek reports that most Americans are wrong about surgical treatments for obesity, ‘…often seen as a shortcut to weight loss – and something that should be used only as a last resort.’
NEWS
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Yahoo Finance at the annual JPMorgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco that ‘…a bet on Lilly is to bet we can keep on inventing new things, not just sell the ones we’ve invented.’
With an increase in sales of Mounjaro from just $200 million in all of 2022, nearly $3 billion through the first nine months of 2023 alone, and a 76% increase in stock price, Eli Lilly is posed for a blockbuster 2024.
Intuitive Surgical, the industry leader of robotic surgical devices, reported at the JPM conferencean average of 22% growth in installations for 2023, compared to 2022.
The stock price surged to its highest levels in six months, surpassing the $350 mark, this week.
Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart PhD, noted ‘…the number of bariatric surgeries performed slowed progressively throughout the year, and continues to decelerate…’ in reference to the ‘…mega-popular GLP-1 drugs as an alternative weight-loss option.’
Noom announced a partnership with Liviniti, a national pass-through and transparent PBM, for plan sponsors and their employees consisting of Noom Weight, Noom Diabetes Prevention Program, and Noom GLP-1 Companion.
Noom GLP-1 Companion helps ‘…members through every phase of their weight loss journey…’ from onboarding, through weight loss, and off-ramping medication and weight maintenance, through nutrition, exercise, and medication adherence.
Noom’s Chief of Medicine, Dr. Linda Anegawa noted ‘…As many as 68% of people don’t remain on a GLP-1 long-term…’ with Noom’s GLP-1 Companion program ‘…designed to weave together comprehensive coaching and content support with psychology-based habit change.’
Reuters quotes Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen at the JPM Conference ‘…he expects patients will stick with the company’s popular obesity drug Wegovy for far longer than those using older treatments.’
Jorgensen added that ‘…stay time is not like a 100%… but I think we will see a significantly higher stay time than what we have seen so far on obesity treatment.’
Contract manufacturer Catalent ‘…stands in a solid spot to reap the benefits of the market’s rapid expansion…’ from CEO Alessandro Maselli at the JPM Conference, from Fierce Pharma.
The manufacturer expects to pick up less than $100 million from producing GLP-1 products, increasing to $500 million with expansions that are already planned through 2026.
Pharma execs from Amgen to Pfizer are plotting to break into the lucrative obesity market by developing or cutting deals to acquire better drugs.
Amgen Chief Scientific Officer Jay Bradner told Reuters of the ‘…massive unmet need, and the public health need is not fully addressed by the medicines that have already been approved.’
Boehringer Ingelheim, Zealand Pharma, Merck and Altimmune have drugs in development, whereas Bayer and Pfizer are looking for partnership and early acquisition opportunities.
The preliminary evaluation of the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System [FAERS] of GLP-1 drugs ‘…has not found evidence that use of these medicines causes suicidal thoughts or actions.’
Mainly because the ‘…information provided was often limited and because these events can be influenced by other potential factors…’ there was a determination that the reports ‘…did not demonstrate a clear relationship with the use of GLP-1 RAs.’
The FDA advised ‘…health care professionals should monitor for and advise patients using GLP-1 RAs to report new or worsening depression, suicidal thoughts, or any unusual changes in mood or behavior.’
OPINION
Oliver Wyman, an American management consulting firm, reviews key players in VC-backed obesity care start-ups including Calibrate, Sequence and Found, together with incumbent expansion from the likes of Noom, Ro, WeightWatchers and Lark.
The authors of the article think ‘…private equity can play an important role in aiding start-ups and more established players build effective GLP-1 strategies…’ based upon two models – a hybrid prescription and lifestyle intervention, and telehealth models.
Further noted is that ‘…success in this market will be rooted in two elements: operational excellence and market outreach to the consumer…’ with capital, best-in-class leadership, and aggressive marketing, all benefited through a private equity framework and foundation.
DATA
Researchers from Melbourne, Australia published in JAMA Network Open on over six hundred thousand adolescents and found over 6% had used a weight-loss product in the past year, being higher among girls than boys.
Diet pills were the weight-loss product used most frequently by adolescents, followed by laxatives and diuretics, with use higher in North America compared with Asia and Europe.
The medications used vary from berberine, described as nature’s Ozempic, to routine laxatives.
With the American Association of Pediatrics guidelines published last year, evidence-based and clinically valid treatments are necessary, to avoid short and long term complications.
Newsweek reports that most Americans are wrong about surgical treatments for obesity, ‘…often seen as a shortcut to weight loss – and something that should be used only as a last resort.’
Dr. Andre Teixeira, a bariatric surgeon at the Orlando Health in Florida believes ‘…There is a misconception that it’s the easy way out for weight loss – but in reality, it’s the opposite.’
Dr. Wendy Brown, a well-known bariatric surgeon from Australia’s Monash University added ‘…People who choose to have a bariatric procedure are not weak… They are brave.’
The survey of 1,017 U.S. adults, conducted for Orlando Health by polling company Ipsos, ‘…found that 61 percent of respondents don’t approve of surgical treatments in the first place and think that people should lose weight using diet and exercise alone.’
And further that ‘…79 percent of those surveyed said that they felt weight loss surgeries should be pursued only as a last resort.’
Dr. Muhammad Ghanem, also at Orlando Health says his patients feel defeated they cannot lose weight on their own.
He notes ‘…obesity is a disease and that many of its causes are outside their control, you can see their relief….’ adding that ‘…They often even shed a tear because they’ve struggled with their weight all their lives and finally have some validation.’
The stigma and bias toward obesity as a willpower issue, versus a chronic disease, pervades in its treatment options – bariatric surgery is safe, effective and can be life-saving.
