For the first time, the World Health Organization has named popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs as essential medicines, a move set to reshape access to the treatments in countries with limited healthcare resources. The move means semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, and tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, are now recognized as crucial for global health systems, per the CBC. However, the WHO did not endorse them for obesity alone. Rather, they are included in the treatment of type 2 diabetes when accompanied by cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, or obesity, per Quartz.
The WHO highlighted the growing urgency of addressing diabetes and obesity, noting that, as of 2022, over 800 million people were living with diabetes—with half not receiving treatment—and more than a billion grapple with obesity worldwide. The agency pointed to high prices as the main barrier to wider use of GLP-1 drugs, particularly in underserved regions.
More than 150 countries have adopted the Essential Medicines list to guide health system purchases and insurance coverage, making its influence broad. The list, reviewed every two years, covers 523 drugs for adults and 374 for children, with 20 medicines added to the adult list and 15 to the pediatric list this year, per a Friday release. Alongside the GLP-1 medications, the new additions include Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Trikafta, a high-priced cystic fibrosis therapy, and Merck's Keytruda, which is used for several types of cancers.
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