The weight loss market is big business.
Especially in the US where almost half of the population are classified as obese. (According to a survey completed in 2020).
Top of the Pile
At the top of the pile are the companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk is the most well known of these. It is a Danish company which operates in 168 countries and has been going since 1989. Eli Lilly is a US company which started in 1876 and operates in 125 countries.
Big Money
The anti-obesity drugs market is estimated to be worth $100 billion by the end of the decade.
In 2023, Novo Nordisk made approximately $31 billion from its anti-obesity drugs. Meanwhile, the value of Eli Lilly has been reported as being past $500 billion, due in part to its weight loss drugs.
Other Companies On Way
It’s no wonder that other companies want in on this booming market.
Viking Therapeutics and Roche are two of the companies snapping at the heels of Nordisk and Lilly.
Injections and Pills
Viking Therapeutics is working on both an injection and an oral pill to combat obesity.
Meanwhile Roche has accelerated the launch of its oral pill following promising test results during its latest study. Both companies have seen their shares rise after announcing the progress of their weight loss products.
Not the Only Ones
Roche and Viking Therapeutics are not the only ones in the race to be the next big players in the weightloss market.
Another Danish company Zealand Pharma is working together with a German manufacturer called Boehringer Ingelheim to develop their offering. While Terns Pharmaceuticals is testing an oral drug and Altimmune is testing an injectable drug.
Global Crisis
The World Health Organization has said that obesity is a “global crisis”.
It is estimated to affect one in eight people across the world.
Possible Side Effects
With such a number of people suffering with obesity, it’s no wonder the market for it is huge.
However, there is a danger of side effects with weightloss drugs and both Nordisk and Lilly’s drugs come with possible side effects and some of those can be life threatening. Fierce Pharma reported in January that the FDA was keeping an eye on the products of both Lilly and Nordisk for this reason.
Ethical Questions
In a world where so many find it hard to regulate their weight, drugs offer possible freedom.
However, there are ethical concerns about their use. The long term effects of these drugs are not yet known. There is also an argument that these drugs only treat the symptoms of obesity and not the causes. The causes are compex and multi-layered, but it has been seen that if weight loss drugs are stopped, a person often regains much of their weight within a year.
Not Worrying the Companies
Right now, that is not a worry to the companies, however.
Lilly’s drug Zepbound may soon become the best selling drug in history, and with obesity persisting as a global problem, there is going to be no shortage of profits anytime soon.
