00:00An analysis, provided to Reuters exclusively, showed that the popular weight loss drugs
00:06Wagovi and Ozempic have seen a steady decline in use over time.
00:11The analysis of U.S. pharmacy data showed that only one in four Americans prescribed
00:16Wagovi or Ozempic for weight loss were still taking it two years later.
00:21The analysis does not include details about why patients quit using the medications, but
00:27the decline in use is spurring a debate over the drug's cost to patients, employers, and
00:32government health plans.
00:34Novo Nordisk's Wagovi or Ozempic can cost more than $1,000 per month and may require
00:41extended use to see meaningful benefits.
00:44The price tag has drawn fire recently from President Joe Biden and other public officials,
00:49who said such drugs could cost the country $411 billion per year, and that's if only
00:56half of adults with obesity use them.
00:59Drug manufacturers have been unable to keep up with the unprecedented demand for the new
01:04weight loss drugs.
01:06In response to the analysis, Novo Nordisk said it, quote, does not believe these data
01:12are sufficient to draw conclusions about overall patient adherence and persistence to various
01:18GLP-1 medicines, including our treatments.
01:22A co-author of the analysis said the reason patients may stop their prescriptions was
01:26likely a mix of side effects, out-of-pocket costs, and supply shortages.
01:32Doctors said some patients may decide to stop the medication after successfully losing weight.
01:39Other studies have shown that most patients who stop using the drugs usually regain most
01:44of the weight.
Comments