July 12, 2023 -- Most people using new, highly touted prescription drugs to lose weight, such as Wegovy, stop taking them after a year, a new report says.
And people who used the drugs had “a substantial increase in health care” costs over the year, says the analysis by Prime Therapeutics, a large pharmacy benefit manager.
“Our analysis shows that a large, upfront financial investment is required when treating weight loss with these drugs,” said Joseph Leach, MD, Prime Therapeutics’ senior vice president and chief medical officer.
About a third of patients were still on the medications after a year. The overall costs of care for patients who took Wegovy or a similar drug rose from an average of $12,371 to $19,657, an increase of 59%.
Meanwhile, people not taking the drugs saw their overall costs decline by 4%.
Prime Therapeutics is owned by 19 U.S. Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans and manages pharmacy benefits for about 38 million people.
The study looked at more than 4,000 people with commercial health plans. They all received new prescriptions for the drugs from a class known as GLP-1 agonists in 2021. They had a diagnosis of obesity, prediabetes, or a body mass index of 30 or higher.
About half were given Novo Nordisk's injected Ozempic or Wegovy; both contain semaglutide. Others were taking Saxenda (liraglutide), an older Novo GLP drug, or Rybelsus, an oral version of semaglutide.
GLP-1 drugs were developed to control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. They have been found to suppress appetite and curb hunger, as well.
The medicine can cost more than $1,000 a month.
"This analysis points to the fact that there can be a lot of spending on people that are not likely to reap any long-term health benefits," Khrysta Baig, a health policy researcher at Vanderbilt University who reviewed the findings, told Reuters. "We need to better target who has access to them if we want to realize their full potential.”
Novo Nordisk did not comment on the report to Reuters but said in a statement that "obesity requires long-term management" and "broadening coverage is key to ensure that those who need (therapy) can access and afford their medicines."
