Only one in four U.S. patients prescribed Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss were still taking the popular medications two years later, according to an analysis of U.S. pharmacy claims provided to Reuters that also showed a steady decline in use over time. - REUTERS
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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.