A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals that the number of individuals without diabetes being prescribed GLP-1 medications is on the rise, while new prescriptions for those with diabetes are declining. This trend is raising alarms about potential shortages of these treatments.
GLP-1 drugs are designed to mimic a hormone that regulates blood sugar and curbs appetite. Initially approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the FDA expanded their use in 2021 to include the weight-loss medication Wegovy.
As demand grows, pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are facing challenges in producing sufficient quantities of GLP-1 medications, such as Zepbound, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic.
Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and other institutions examined medical records spanning 2011 to 2023 for 45 million Americans who had at least one medical visit. They discovered that the percentage of new GLP-1 users with type 2 diabetes decreased from nearly 90% to over 70% between 2019 and 2023. Conversely, the number of new GLP-1 users without type 2 diabetes increased from 10% to 25%.
Yee Hui Yeo, a co-first author of the study, noted that this shift indicates a growing recognition among healthcare providers of the benefits of these medications for obesity treatment. However, she expressed concerns about the risk of drug shortages and the need to ensure that diabetes patients retain access to these important treatments.
The study utilized data from TriNetX, a healthcare analytics company, which might not represent the entire national population.
GLP-1 medications have gained popularity for their side effect of appetite suppression and have demonstrated the potential for users to lose up to 26% of their body weight.
The soaring sales of these medications have propelled Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to become two of the most valuable pharmaceutical companies globally. However, the intense demand has created difficulties for some patients in obtaining their prescriptions. Both companies have committed billions of dollars to enhance production capacity.
Morgan Stanley analysts project that the global market for GLP-1 drugs could reach $105 billion by 2030. They also anticipate that approximately 31.5 million people in the U.S.—around 9% of the population—will adopt these treatments by 2035.