WHO backs weight-loss jabs but warns most who need them won’t get access

The World Health Organisation has backed the use of diabetes and weight-loss drugs to fight rising obesity levels but warned that access in lower-income countries remains severely limited unless manufacturers cut prices and ramp up production, according to a Politico report.

New WHO treatment guidelines now include GLP-1 medications — including Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro — as part of obesity treatment alongside diet, exercise and medical support.

The organisation labelled the recommendation “conditional” because long-term safety and effectiveness data remains limited. Pregnant women are excluded from the guidance.

GLP-1 drugs have become standard treatment in wealthy nations, but the WHO said fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit will have access by 2030.

Some of the world’s highest obesity rates are in the Middle East, Latin America and Pacific islands, yet Wegovy was available in only around 15 countries at the start of this year.

The WHO is pushing manufacturers to adopt tiered pricing — charging less in poorer countries — and to voluntarily licence patents and technology so other companies can make the drugs.

Jeremy Farrar, WHO assistant director general, told Politico the guidelines signal support for generic manufacturers to produce cheaper alternatives once patents expire.

Francesca Celletti, a senior WHO adviser on obesity, told Politico that manufacturers need to act decisively, pointing to how HIV antiretroviral drug prices collapsed earlier this century. “We all thought it was impossible … and then the price went down,” she said.

Patents on semaglutide — the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy — expire in India, Brazil and China next year.

Indian pharmaceutical giant Dr. Reddy’s intends to launch a generic semaglutide weight-loss drug in 87 countries in 2026, chief executive Erez Israeli told reporters in July, according to Reuters. “U.S. and Europe will open later … (and) all the other Western markets will be open between 2029 to 2033,” he said.

Lower prices will help once generics arrive, but cold storage requirements for injectable drugs and the need for equipped health systems present additional hurdles, according to Celletti.

(information from politico.eu)