© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A selection of injection pens for the weight loss drug Saxenda are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Wondruska/Illustration/File Image
By Jennifer Rigby
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Weight-loss drug Wegovy has transformed the obesity market and drug companies with existing treatments are hoping the resulting demand will drive demand for their older, less effective but cheaper drugs.
A weekly injection of Wegovy, which launched in the US in June 2021, leads to an average weight loss of about 15%, along with changes in diet and exercise. Its impact has captured the attention of patients, investors, and even celebrities.
But supply issues for Wegovy manufacturer Novo Nordisk (NYSE: ) mean the Danish drugmaker is struggling to meet growing US demand, delaying its launch in most of Europe.
Insurance companies and some national governments also defaulted on their cost, while a minority of patients did not respond.
Vivus and Currax Pharmaceuticals, two US developers whose treatments have been on the US market for about a decade, are hoping to capitalize on a lack of attention and supplies.
But scientists and investors say low efficacy, plus side effects, can continue to hamper treatment.
In the coming months, Vivus plans to launch its birth control pill, which is sold as Qsiva in Europe and Qysmia in the United States, in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. It already has regulatory approval in the United States, Poland and South Korea, as well as these countries.
Its chief executive John Amos told Reuters during the last European Conference on Obesity that Vivos also provided evidence to the UK regulator for the pills, and is in talks with regulators in a number of other European countries as well as in the Middle East and Mexico. A week in Dublin.
“The new factors have created a much broader[awareness]: Obesity is not a series of bad choices, it is a medical condition that requires treatment,” he said.
Qsiva was rejected by the European Medicines Agency in 2013 due to safety concerns, which Amos called “overrated,” as US patients have been using it for years without major red flags. Vivus said annual sales now total more than $150 million.
The drug, which is not recommended for people with unstable heart disease and can cause mood disturbances and eye problems, results in about 11% weight loss, and works in a different way than the new class of drugs.
Requests
The obesity market is expected to eventually support 10 manufacturers, with annual sales of $100 billion in 10 years, industry executives and analysts say.
The increased demand after Wegovy actually launched the older Novo GLP-1 drug, Saxenda, which has a different active ingredient and lower potency, reducing weight by between 5% and 10% on average. Sales jumped 42% to 10.6 billion Danish crowns ($1.5 billion) last year compared to 2021.
Others are lining up too, with Eli Lilly (NYSE:) likely to be next to launch its drug, a GLP-1 agonist like Wegovy, later this year, followed by Pfizer (NYSE:) and others.
Currax said its drug, which is marketed as Contrave in the US and Mysimba in Europe, has already been approved in 40 countries, with annual sales of about $100 million. Reduces weight by about 5% on average.
“There are enough patients with obesity that, unfortunately, could benefit from a drug,” said Michael Kyle, Corax’s chief medical officer. “We want patients and healthcare providers to have other options.”
Both said there has been interest from researchers and clinicians to combine their medications with newer GLP-1 agonists, although no trials have been included in the official databases yet.
Obesity experts said the older drugs had a role despite their problems, not least because they cost hundreds, not thousands, of dollars a month.
“Once the world views obesity as a disease, healthcare providers will look for other things that can benefit their patients,” said Lee Kaplan, director of the Institute of Obesity and Metabolism in Boston, US, who has advised other obesity drug manufacturers.
But investors said issues with the older drugs, particularly efficacy and tolerability, could continue to hamper them.
“I can imagine people experimenting with options, but then I don’t expect those to see a sustained recovery,” said Andrew Levine, managing director of US-based health care and life sciences investment group RA Capital Management.
