The World Health Organization recommended this Friday, September 5, for the first time, the new generation of successful treatment against diabetes and obesity, by requesting the provision of generic and cheaper versions for populations in developing countries.
The WHO has added the active prince of the Ozempic semaglutida and full of the Danish giant Novo Nordisk -, the dorade and the liraglutida, as well as the shooting, used for the Mounjaro of Eli Lilly-, to its list of essential medicines, updated every two years, according to a press release.
According to the figures of the organization, more than 3.7 million people died in 2021 of overweight or obese diseases, rather than the number of victims of the main fatal infectious diseases, malaria, tuberculosis and combined AIDS.
Very high prices
The new treatments against diabetes and obesity accentuate the action of a hormone that acts on insulin secretion (LPG-1) and, in general, in the feeling of satiety.
Its very high prices, which can exceed, for example, $ 1,000 per month in the United States, “limit access to these medications,” observes the WHO, fearing in particular that the most disadvantaged countries are private.
To ensure that these injectable treatments that “save lives” reach those who need it most, the agency significantly requires “encouraging generic competition at lower prices.”
Generic soon available?
According to Andrew Hill, a pharmacology researcher at the University of Liverpool, studies show that the generic semaglutid could occur in mass in India for only $ 4 per month. “We are asking Novartis and Eli Lilly to act responsible and make their treatments available worldwide at a affordable generic price,” he told AFP.
The semaglutid patent will expire in 2026 in certain countries, including Canada, India and China, which could also promote generic production. In addition to diabetes and obesity, these treatments seem to be linked to improvements in various pathologies.
According to a study published this week in JAMA magazine, patients with heart problems and taking these medications had a reduced risk of more than 40% of being hospitalized or dying prematurely.
More than one billion people worldwide are affected by obesity, and more than 800 million were for diabetes in 2022, he told WHO. The organization has also added a series of anti -Cáncer to its list of essential drugs.
Source: BFM TV
