Healthcare suppliers and food companies are veering into new business plans amid the booming market for weight loss medications, which is expected to reach $80 billion by 2030.
Six updates on the Type 2 diabetes drug often used for weight management:
1. Novo Nordisk's CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is fielding calls from food company leaders, who are "scared" about Ozempic and Wegovy's effect on consumer habits, Bloomberg reported Feb. 7. In fall 2023, Walmart's CEO John Furner said he was seeing "a slight pullback in [the] overall basket" because of the popularity of GLP-1s.
In response, food companies are switching strategies to promote healthier options in the hope of retaining consumers. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Nestlé, snackmaker Conagra Brands and France-based yogurt company Danone have all recently indicated consumer behaviors are changing because of weight loss trends.
2. The FDA warned two more online companies about selling unapproved versions of semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, Zepbound). In letters posted Feb. 13, the agency said US Chem Labs and Synthetix/Helix Chemical Supply are violating federal law.
In the past few months, counterfeit solutions of GLP-1s have popped up in numerous medical spas, compounding pharmacies and clinics.
3. On Feb. 9, Novo Nordisk settled two lawsuits against companies it accused of selling counterfeit compounded drugs, NBC News reported. The two Florida-based businesses, Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa and Nuvida Rx Weight Loss, are banned from using Novo Nordisk trademarks or logos and claiming their compounded drugs are FDA approved.
The drugmaker has filed 12 total lawsuits against companies claiming to sell semaglutide.
4. The healthcare supply industry is taking notice of GLP-1s' surging popularity. DHL Supply Chain, a contract logistics company, said Feb. 13 it was constructing new manufacturing facilities because of the "upsurge in the pharmaceutical landscape" from weight loss and diabetes drugs.
DHL also committed to investing $200 million into its healthcare and life sciences capabilities.
5. A new study found that patients taking GLP-1s are less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression compared to those who don't use them. The findings came a month after an early review of FDA data failed to find a link between GLP-1s and a risk of suicidal thoughts.
6. Between mid-2021 and mid-2022, the number of GLP-1 prescriptions surpassed those of insulin medications. Cedar Gate Technologies, a healthcare data company, analyzed more than 12 million records among diabetes patients. In one year, GLP-1 prescriptions increased 36.1%, and costs grew 43.4%. At the same time, insulin prescriptions decreased 1.4%, falling to the second-most prescribed diabetes medication.