A new class of drugs is causing a public sensation and an industry gold rush, but questions remain about their accessibility to an overweight nation.
that rivaled GLPs already on the market. Viking’s share price doubled over a month, boosting its stock-market value by $1.4 billion — a stunning jump for such a preliminary finding.previously disclosed results on one of its GLP drugs, the drug giant’s shares surged and added more than $10 billion to its value. When investors bet that kind of money on a drug that might not even move forward, Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat wrote in a research note, “we are clearly in the hey day of GLPs.
GLPs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration have quickly become engines of cash for their developers. Eli Lilly brought in $568.5 million of revenue in the first three months of 2023 from Mounjaro, its new diabetes drug. Novo Nordisk, a Danish company, reported the equivalent of about $3.5 billion in sales from Ozempic and Wegovy combined over the same period.
Developing a drug that can meaningfully and safely help people shed pounds has been a “holy grail” for the pharmaceutical industry for decades, analysts say. The new drugs are man-made versions of Glucagon-like peptide 1, a hormone naturally produced by the body that helps regulate blood-sugar levels, make food pass more slowly through the stomach and suppress appetite. The treatment has evolved from drugs that had been injected daily to once a week, and drugmakers are developing a pill version.
Part of the excitement for these new drugs is the potential for broader health benefits — and the cost savings that could flow from them. Matthew Gilbert, an endocrinologist at University of Vermont Medical Center, said GLP drugs are so effective at managing diabetes that he’s able to cut back on prescribing insulin to patients.Yet the benefits of GLP drugs can vanish when patients stop taking them, which could mean patients take them for a lifetime.
The chief executive of WeightWatchers cautioned that the drugs “are not magic pills,” but the company’s stock jumped 59 percent the day after it announced itGary Foster, chief scientific officer of WeightWatchers, said in a statement that GLPs are a breakthrough, but emphasized the need to pair them with a behavioral program. That, he said, “is the foundation for healthier patterns of eating and activity as well as a better quality of life.
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