Ozempic may be helpful not just in fighting obesity and diabetes, but also in slowing the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell notes that Ozempic will also have a big effect on the economy: “With adult obesity rates falling last year for the first time in more than a decade, drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound are already reshaping Americans’ waistlines. Now, they’re poised to reshape the entire economy, too.” By last May, 1 in 8 American adults had tried these drugs. Rampell adds, “We’re only just beginning to learn the full universe of effects for this class of drugs. Originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, GLP-1s were soon discovered to be effective in treating obesity and managing weight loss. Now there’s an ever-growing list of other potential uses,” “including for treating heart disease, sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s, substance abuse and maybe even gambling addiction.”
Wegovy is another GLP-1 anti-obesity drug that is having a big impact. “I’m on Wegovy for the rest of my life, but I can show you an entire medicine cabinet full of medications that I no longer have to take,” said Taryn Mitchell, 53, of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Rampell describes 7 key effects of Ozempic, Zepbound, and Wegovy. One is skyrocketing spending on these GLP-1 drugs, which is expected to rise from $40 billion in 2024 to $120 billion in 2030. People are spending billions less on food and alcohol while under the influence of these anti-obesity drugs. Moreover, rapid weight loss has resulted in some people replacing their wardrobes. Airlines are expected to save a large amount of money on fuel once passengers slim down. Life insurers will likely save money and fewer will go broke, given the many causes of mortality associated with obesity. Here are four other major effects of these drugs:
4. Drug spending is distorting global financial markets.The Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, nearly single-handedly kept its home country’s economy out of recession last year while most of Europe struggled. And because Americans are the primary customers of these meds, U.S. dollars flowed heavily into Denmark….To keep the [Danish currency’s] value steady, the Danish central bank had to cut interest rates. Put another way: Overweight Americans unintentionally helped Danes get cheaper mortgages.5. Governments and private insurers are buckling under the cost of these meds …Again, GLP-1s are extremely expensive. Some states and private insurers that previously covered GLP-1s for weight loss reversed course because they risked going broke. Recently, the Biden administration proposed requiring Medicare and Medicaid to cover these meds as a treatment for obesity as a chronic disease. This would cost Medicare alone an additional $35 billion between 2026 and 2034.6. … but they could ultimately save tons of money on other health spending.Obesity is a chronic disease associated with dozens of other ailments, including joint problems and cancers. So helping Americans lose weight has the potential to make the public much healthier — and reduce spending on other (costly) care. Seven women in Mitchell’s family, for instance, had breast cancer, and both of her parents developed forms of dementia. Mitchell herself developed diabetes. All of these problems have linkages with obesity.7. The labor market could get a boost.Besides robbing many Americans of their energy, health and self-esteem, obesity has also robbed the U.S. economy of some of its most precious assets: workers. Obesity-related disabilities, absenteeism, “presenteeism” (that is, showing up but not performing your best), and premature death all have enormous social and economic costs. Which means that making Americans healthier can make the labor market healthier, too…Mitchell, for instance, said she picked up a second job this summer, something she would not have had the energy to do before her recent 85-pound weight loss.
In other news, a drug could extend women’s fertility by 5 years, and in doing so, may improve their memory, energy levels and the quality of their skin and hair.
Another recent drug radically increases the survival rate for people suffering from advanced lung cancer. That drug will not immediately save lives. Before it can be sold to the public, it first has to be approved by drug regulators like the FDA, which could take a long time. Many people die waiting for the FDA to approve life-saving drugs. For example, at least a hundred thousand people died waiting years for the FDA to approve beta blockers. One of the FDA officials involved in delaying their approval was John Nestor. Nestor was notorious for following rules in ways designed to deliberately delay other people, such as his habit of deliberately driving slowly in the fast lane on highways in order to slow down other motorists.
Scientists have developed tiny robots made of human cells to repair damaged cells. And Arizona State University scientists “have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply,” eliminating cancers. Gene therapies are being used to cure inherited blindness and deafness in some people.
