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The World Health Organization added Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly and Co.’s Mounjaro to its list of essential medicines, a step that may expand access to the drugs around the world.
The recommendation applies to a range of GLP-1 drugs that also includes the Indianapolis-based Lilly’s older Trulicity, for those with Type 2 diabetes, and Novo’s Victoza, the health organization said on Friday.
The public health agency didn’t say it’s essential to take GLP-1s for obesity as a standalone condition, instead focusing on their use for diabetes patients who also have heart or kidney disease as well as obesity. That’s because the strongest evidence that the drugs help patients is in people who have several cardiometabolic conditions, said Lorenzo Moja, a scientist in the WHO secretariat of the model list of essential medicines.
“Where resources allow, countries should consider expanding access programs,” Moja said by email. The WHO said generic competition should be encouraged to drive down the price of the drugs and make them more available in day-to-day health care.
The WHO updates its list of essential medicines every two years. More than 800 million people in the world have diabetes, the WHO said, while more than 1 billion people have obesity.
Lilly’s blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, including Zepbound, which is approved specifically for weight loss, have seen sales skyrocket in recent years, and the demand keeps growing. The company reported second-quarter revenue for Mounjaro was $5.2 billion, up 68% year-over-year. For the same period, Zepbound grew 172%, to $3.4 billion.
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