Some of the most popular drugs today might still be underused . A written report released this week has rule that a majority of American grownup are eligible to take semaglutide , the active ingredient in the medicine Wegovy and Ozempic .
scientist at Harvard and elsewhere conducted the survey , strain to quantify the potential reach of these already best - selling blockbuster drugs . Based on nationally representative survey information , they estimated that 136.8 million Americans currently fill the criteria for semaglutide therapy , or more than one-half of the total U.S. grownup population . While most eligible exploiter would take semaglutide for their fleshiness , about 30 million Americans would in the first place do good from lease it to supervise their character 2 diabetes or reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease — three precondition that bestow to premature death and healthcare costs .
“ The expectant number of U.S. adults eligible for semaglutide highlights its possible impact on pharmaceutical disbursement and universe health , ” the researchers wrote in their paper , publishedMonday inJAMA Cardiology .
A container and several injection pens of Wegovy.© James Manning/PA Images via Getty
Semaglutide and similar GLP-1 drug haveprovento be far more effective at helping people misplace weight than dieting and exercise alone . Though these medications have their side - effects and are n’t effective for everyone , research has keep to validate their welfare in treat not only corpulency but possibly other consideration like substance utilization disorderliness .
How Ozempic Works — and What ’s Still a closed book
regrettably , GLP-1 drugs are n’t chintzy . The fair list cost of Wegovy ( the only semaglutide - based drug presently approved for fleshiness ) is around $ 1,300 a month , while Ozempic ( okay for diabetes but sometimes prescribe off - recording label for weight loss ) is around $ 1,000 monthly . Many insurers , public and secret , also do not leave reportage for these drugs , at least partially due to these high price . The demand and price of GLP-1 therapy has help drive the emergence of a gray and black market place for it , with people often turn to cheaper compounded or counterfeit version thatmay not be safeas the true clause .
Survey datasuggests that roughly 12 % of Americans have been prescribed GLP-1 drugs latterly , while 6 % are currently on them . It ’s a popularity that has aid Novo Nordisk — makers of Wegovy and Ozempic — make over$50 billion this class alone . But this chassis is still far from the run of eligible user estimated by the JAMA research worker . The researchers note that many recent user cover having worry paying for their drug , even when their insurance does cover it . mellow price also affect public payers like Medicare , which can lead to restrictive touchstone for patient eligibility ( Medicare technically ca n’t yield for corpulency medication in cosmopolitan , but can cover GLP-1s if they ’re prescribe for condition like diabetes or heart disease ) .
“ [ S]ince more than one-half of US adults who have choose GLP-1 sense organ agonists express the therapy was unmanageable to give , intervention to thin economical barriers to access are urgently demand , ” the JAMA researchers write .
There are undoubtedly many eligible Americans who would n’t necessarily benefit from adopt semaglutide or who simply would n’t need to take it even if cost was no issue . But the large gap between the literal and potential phone number of GLP-1 users suggests that there ’s a lot of missed opportunity for improving people ’s wellness . A field publish this preceding October , for instance , estimatedthat eminent uptake of GLP-1 drugs could forbid 42,000 deaths annually in the U.S. from obesity- or diabetes - related health problems .
large lawmakers like Vermont senator Bernie Sandershave arguedthat any efforts to meliorate people ’s access to these drug should let in concentrate their costs . “ As of import as these drugs are , they will not do any good for the millions of patients who can not afford them , ” he wrote in a missive to Novo Nordisk before this April .
DiabetesGLP-1obesityWeight loss
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