Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests patients may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their typical appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
