In a first, the World Health Organization has issued a guideline on GLP-1s, a drug class that up to 1 in 8 U.S. adults report using, according to KFF research.
The WHO’s guideline, published Dec. 1 in JAMA, recommends long-term use of GLP-1 medications be “combined with intensive behavioral therapy.” The guideline included several GLP-1s, such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) and liraglutide (Saxenda).
The drug class has several indications — including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, kidney disease and obstructive sleep apnea — as well as a plethora of future uses researchers are exploring, such as addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. While some are approved for patients as young as 10 years old, the WHO guideline focuses exclusively on adults.
The WHO said GLP-1 medications alone cannot solve obesity, which the organization categorizes as a growing public health challenge that affects more than 1 billion people. Still, the guideline recommends the drug class for “long-term use,” or at least six months, along with “intensive behavioral therapy.”
The global obesity burden is predicted to affect 2 billion people by 2030. To mitigate this public health issue, the WHO called for “new and ambitious approaches” as, “even under the current highest projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people.”
“While significant, this number represents less than 10% of people currently living with obesity,” the guideline said.
Here are three other updates on GLP-1 medications:
1. List prices for multiple GLP-1s are falling. In early November, Novo Nordisk reached a deal with the Trump administration to lower the price of Ozempic and Wegovy to $245 per month through Medicare and Medicaid with a $50 copay and directly to patients at $350. Days later, the Denmark-based drugmaker reduced the monthly cost from $499 to $349 through its direct-to-consumer portal.
CMS released its negotiated prices for 15 Medicare Part D medications Nov. 26, including Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1s. In 2024, their list price was $959, but in 2027, a monthly price of $274 will go into effect.
Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Zepbound and Mounjaro, made a similar move Dec. 1. The company lowered the direct-to-consumer cost of the GLP-1s from a range of $599 to $1,049 per month to $399 to $449.
2. Hours before CMS published its 2027 negotiated price list, Novo Nordisk said Nov. 26 it had filed an application seeking expedited FDA approval of its Wegovy 7.2-milligram injection.
The drug is currently approved in 0.25, 0.5, 1.7 and 2.4 milligram doses, and is indicated for obesity, overweight with at least one weight-related comorbid condition, weight-related cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.
The experimental 7.2 milligram injection could offer greater weight loss results, Novo Nordisk said, as the dose led to an average 20.7% loss in body weight in a 72-week clinical trial. Trial participants who took 2.4 milligram injections lost an average 17.5% in body weight, while the placebo group saw a 2.4% reduction.
3. Eli Lilly recently became the first publicly traded U.S. healthcare company to reach a market capitalization over $1 trillion. In late November, the Indianapolis-based drugmaker joined an exclusive list dominated by tech giants, including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.
The company’s weight loss drug Zepbound and Type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro could be the nation’s top-selling drugs this year. In 2024, the two drugs cost the U.S. healthcare industry $31.7 billion.
