Weight loss treatments are going through a revolution. A new class of injectable drugs used to treat diabetes bring hope to obese patients by helping them lose weight and avoid developing diabetes or other weight-related health issues.
What To Know
- The Food and Drug Administration recently approved Zepbound, the Eli Lilly drug tirzepatide, for people who are obese or overweight.
- The same drug, sold under the name Mounjaro, has been available since last year for people with type 2 diabetes to help improve blood sugar.
- This means that many people who are obese but not diabetic could get insurance to cover Zepbound, which is available only with a prescription. Zepbound costs about $1,060 for a month’s supply.
- In the US, more than 100 million people (41.9 percent of adults) have obesity.
Who can use Zepbound?
The Food and Drug Administration approved Zepbound for adults with a body mass index, or BMI, of at least 30 or a BMI of 27 or more if a patient also has another weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, heart disease or obstructive sleep apnea.
Find your BMI here.
How does it work?
The active ingredient in Zepbound is tirzepatide, which mimics a hormone that helps curb appetite and reduce food intake.
However, it also mimics another hormone that breaks down sugar and fat, which is a double advantage for losing weight, potentially making it the most effective weight loss drug on the market.
Zepbound, which patients self-inject once a week, is the same medication as the Type 2 diabetes drug, Mounjar, except the dosage is different.
Competition and a Booming Market
A similar drug, semaglutide, is sold by Novo Nordisk, and has been available for several years for people with diabetes, under the brand name Ozempic.
For those taking it for weight loss, it’s called Wegovy.
Semaglutide is an ingredient that can reduce appetite by imitating a hormone that signals the brain when a person is full.
An Expert Opinion
Semaglutide has been available longer, and was considered among the most powerful options for medication-aided weight loss until tirzepatide hit the market, says Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, an obesity medicine physician, scientist, educator, and policymaker at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
“When semaglutide came out it was the highest weight loss we had ever seen with a drug — that is, until we saw the results for tirzepatide,” Dr. Stanford says.
Side Effects
The side effects for all these medications are similar, usually affecting the gastrointestinal tract, including stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. However, studies show that the side effects for Zepbound have been relatively minimal. But more data will be available as more patients without diabetes begin taking these medications.
Supply and Demand
The companies have been having trouble keeping up with the high demand for all three drugs. As a result, supply is often low, and patients have trouble getting them.
Lilly chairman and CEO, Dave Ricks, said that production is expected to be twice what it was last year with help from a new manufacturing facility in North Carolina.
They also plan to create a savings card program to help patients have better access.
Final Verdict
People who don’t have diabetes but struggle with obesity now have a second and possibly more effective medication option to help them lose weight- if they can afford it and if they can get their hands on the drug.
Image by drobotdean on Freepik
[…] medications such as zepbound, wegovy are showing record breaking sales and results, but they are not affordable options for most people […]
Very educating story, saved your site for hopes to read more!