Weight Loss Drug Saxenda May Make WHO List: Could Help Make It Cheaper Worldwide
World Health Organization advisors will meet next month to decide whether liraglutide will be added to the organization’s updated Essential Medicines List, making the drug available in all hospital systems worldwide at an affordable cost, and paving the way for other weight-loss medications.
The logo of the World Health Organization (WHO) is at its headquarters in Geneva.
KEY FACTS
Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, an injection used to control blood sugar levels of type 2 diabetics, but it’s also approved for weight loss for use in overweight and obese individuals when paired with diet and exercise.
The drug was first approved for weight management in adults in 2014 by the Food and Drug Administration and received approval for weight management in kids in 2020.
The cost of Saxenda (liraglutide’s brand name) varies depending on a treatment plan, insurance coverage, and pharmacy, but according to Novo Nordisk, the monthly list price of the drug is $1,349.02.
If added, liraglutide will be the first weight-loss medication to make the Essential Medicines List, making way for other weight-loss drugs like the newer and more potent drug Wegovy.
Liraglutide is manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy and Ozempic (semaglutide), another FDA-approved weight management and type 2 diabetes drug, and an FDA-approved type 2 diabetes drug used off-label for weight loss, respectively.
The request to add GLP-1 receptor agonists like liraglutide to the list was submitted by four American researchers from Yale University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the University of California at San Francisco.