WHO to Consider Adding Obesity Drugs to Essential Medicines List
2023-04-04
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1Drugs that fight obesity could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "essential medicines list."
2The United Nations health agency told Reuters the list is used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries.
3A group of WHO advisers will examine new requests for drugs to be included next month.
4The latest list of essential medicines is set to be released in September.
5The request to consider obesity drugs came from three doctors and a researcher in the United States.
6Their request covers the active ingredient liraglutide, which is used in the obesity drug Saxenda.
7The drug, made by Novo Nordisk, is set to come off patent soon.
8The consideration is meant to permit the availability of less costly versions of such drugs.
9WHO advisers could reject the request or wait for more evidence.
10But if they approve the request to include Saxenda and any future drug versions, it would mark a new method of dealing with worldwide obesity.
11However, some public health experts warn against introducing such medicines to the public as a solution to a complex condition that is still not completely understood.
12The WHO said the group of experts would consider the evidence for liraglutide over the coming months.
13The group may also look into other kinds of weight-loss treatments in the future.
14The WHO found over 650 million adults worldwide are obese, more than three times the rate in 1975.
15Another 1.3 billion people worldwide are overweight.
16Seventy percent of obese and overweight people live in low- and middle-income countries.
17Including obesity drugs among the WHO's essential medicines could make a major difference in poorer populations.
18Experts say that adding drugs for the disease HIV to the list in 2002 helped make such drugs more widely available to patients in lower-income countries.
19The doctors and the researcher who requested the consideration wrote, "At present, there are no medications included in the (list) that specifically target weight loss for the ongoing global burden of obesity."
20They argue that the lack of weight-loss treatments goes against the idea of worldwide health equality.
21Poorer nations, they added, are seeing increased deaths from weight-related illnesses.
22Saxenda is a once-daily injection.
23It has been shown to help people reduce 5 to 10 percent of their body weight.
24It is $450 per month in the United States and $150 per month in Europe.
25Another drug made by Novo Nordisk, Wegovy, is a weekly injection.
26It costs more than $1,300 a month in the United States.
27People using it have lost up to 15 percent of their weight.
28At the moment, Wegovy is in short supply.
29Novo is mainly working toward Wegovy's launch in the United States and other wealthy markets.
30Both drugs belong to a class of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
31Such drugs have been used for years to treat diabetes.
32The drug affects hunger signals to the brain and slow the rate at which a person's stomach empties.
33As a result, people feel fuller longer.
34For both Saxenda and Wegovy, there is a lack of long-term safety and effectiveness data for obesity.
35Studies suggest people will likely have to take the drugs for the rest of their lives to keep the weight off.
36Novo Nordisk said in a statement it was not involved in the request to consider liraglutide for the WHO list.
37It added, "We welcome the WHO review and look forward to the readout and decision."
38I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Drugs that fight obesity could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "essential medicines list." 2The United Nations health agency told Reuters the list is used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries. 3A group of WHO advisers will examine new requests for drugs to be included next month. The latest list of essential medicines is set to be released in September. 4The request to consider obesity drugs came from three doctors and a researcher in the United States. Their request covers the active ingredient liraglutide, which is used in the obesity drug Saxenda. The drug, made by Novo Nordisk, is set to come off patent soon. The consideration is meant to permit the availability of less costly versions of such drugs. 5WHO advisers could reject the request or wait for more evidence. 6But if they approve the request to include Saxenda and any future drug versions, it would mark a new method of dealing with worldwide obesity. 7However, some public health experts warn against introducing such medicines to the public as a solution to a complex condition that is still not completely understood. 8The WHO said the group of experts would consider the evidence for liraglutide over the coming months. The group may also look into other kinds of weight-loss treatments in the future. 9The WHO found over 650 million adults worldwide are obese, more than three times the rate in 1975. Another 1.3 billion people worldwide are overweight. Seventy percent of obese and overweight people live in low- and middle-income countries. 10Expanding its reach 11Including obesity drugs among the WHO's essential medicines could make a major difference in poorer populations. Experts say that adding drugs for the disease HIV to the list in 2002 helped make such drugs more widely available to patients in lower-income countries. 12The doctors and the researcher who requested the consideration wrote, "At present, there are no medications included in the (list) that specifically target weight loss for the ongoing global burden of obesity." 13They argue that the lack of weight-loss treatments goes against the idea of worldwide health equality. Poorer nations, they added, are seeing increased deaths from weight-related illnesses. 14About the drugs 15Saxenda is a once-daily injection. It has been shown to help people reduce 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. It is $450 per month in the United States and $150 per month in Europe. 16Another drug made by Novo Nordisk, Wegovy, is a weekly injection. It costs more than $1,300 a month in the United States. People using it have lost up to 15 percent of their weight. 17At the moment, Wegovy is in short supply. Novo is mainly working toward Wegovy's launch in the United States and other wealthy markets. 18Both drugs belong to a class of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists. Such drugs have been used for years to treat diabetes. The drug affects hunger signals to the brain and slow the rate at which a person's stomach empties. As a result, people feel fuller longer. 19For both Saxenda and Wegovy, there is a lack of long-term safety and effectiveness data for obesity. Studies suggest people will likely have to take the drugs for the rest of their lives to keep the weight off. 20Novo Nordisk said in a statement it was not involved in the request to consider liraglutide for the WHO list. It added, "We welcome the WHO review and look forward to the readout and decision." 21I'm Gregory Stachel. 22Jennifer Rigby reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25obese - adj. fat in a way that is unhealthy 26essential - adj. extremely important and necessary 27ingredient - n. one of the things that are used to make a food or product 28patent - n. an official document that gives a person or company the right to be the only one that makes or sells a product for a certain period of time 29specifically - adv. in a definite and exact way 30burden - n. someone or something that is very difficult to accept, do, or deal with 31review - n. an act of carefully looking at or examining the quality or condition of something or someone 32_____________________________________________________________________ 33What do you think of this story? 34We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.