Sectors Up Close: AI 'could improve drugmaker revenues by 12%'
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Hims & Hers falls as weight loss treatment shift hurts revenues
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Shares of Hims & Hers (HIMS.N), opens new tab fell nearly 9% on Tuesday after the telehealth firm reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, in part as its move from branded to lower-cost, personalized weight loss treatments led to lower revenue per subscriber. Hims said it saw strong demand for its weight-loss offerings in the second quarter, but noted that a pivot toward personalized compounded GLP-1 treatments lowered the revenue it earned per order versus its previous compounded offering. The new personalized offering is more costly to run, the company said. Compounded medications are less expensive than branded drugs like Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab Wegovy, which Hims had offered under a now-terminated partnership with the Danish drugmaker. Hims reported $190 million in GLP-1-related revenue during the quarter, down around $40 million from the preceding quarter. Overall platform subscriptions rose 31% year-over-year. Leerink Partners analysts flagged the GLP-1 revenue dip as expected. However, the market reaction was negative after the results, as investor expectations were elevated due to a surge in Hims' shares this year. The company's stock has more than doubled so far this year, while Denmark-listed shares of Novo have fallen over 50%. The brokerage called the softness in Hims' core business, which includes treatments for conditions related to sexual health, a negative surprise. Hims & Hers reported a decline in its subscribers for its sexual health business, which sells generic drugs for erectile dysfunction, in the second quarter. Canaccord Genuity echoed a near-term caution for the company, but remained constructive on the longer-term growth potential, citing strong year-over-year gains in newer specialties such as dermatology, weight management, and daily-use sexual health solutions. Despite the stock's sharp post-earnings pullback, the brokerage called the move a potential buying opportunity. Hims shares are priced at 95.85 times the company's estimated earnings for the next 12 months, a common benchmark for valuing stocks.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Ozempic to Mounjaro - what are the weight loss injections and what were they designed to do?
Drugs designed to treat diabetes and repurposed as miracle diet aids have taken over TikTok - and Hollywood. The weight loss caused by these weekly injectables is rapid and previously unattainable, people boast, showing off newly svelte bodies. But what are these drugs, how do they work - and what were they originally designed to do? Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro - what are they? Let's start with the most well-known of the trio: Ozempic. Ozempic blew up in 2022 - if media reports from the US were to be believed, every pound dropped in LA was probably thanks to the "miracle" injectable drug. What started as the preserve of A-listers and the Hollywood elite quickly grew in popularity. The drug's generic name is semaglutide. This is the same as Wegovy, which has been licensed as a weight loss drug in the UK and is now available on the NHS. Wegovy has a slightly higher dosage and is designed for weight loss, while Ozempic's primary purpose was as a diabetes treatment (more on that later). Mounjaro - also known by its generic name tirzepatide - is the newer kid on the block. Like Ozempic and Wegovy, it suppresses the appetite and lengthens the amount of time food stays in the stomach, leading to weight loss - at least for as long as you carry on taking it. In 2022, the US Food and Drink Administration (FDA) fast-tracked approval of the drug to treat obesity after a study showed it helped people lose more than 20% of their bodyweight. Mounjaro was supposed to be available through GP surgeries and other community services in the UK from 23 June. But at the start of August, Sky News research revealed only eight of 42 NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England had started providing treatment to patients, and many of the rest unable to guarantee when it would be available. 3:31 From diabetes drug to diet pill Ozempic and Mounjaro were both developed as treatments for type 2 diabetes. The drugs, which come as weekly injections, lower blood sugar by increasing insulin production when your blood sugar is rising and helping prevent your liver making and releasing too much sugar. So how do they cause weight loss? Both semaglutide and tirzepatide work by mimicking the hormone, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide one), to manage hunger and slow down digestion. Tirzepatide - Mounjaro - is a dual-acting drug and also mimics the hormone GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide). In terms of weight loss, in clinical trials people lost up to 20% of their body weight on tirzepatide and 15% on semaglutide. Researchers have also found the weight loss jabs could reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes or heart failure in obese people regardless of the amount of weight they lose. They sound like miracle drugs for people wanting to lose weight - what's the catch? There are a few downsides. First off, the listed side effects: nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, bad enough for about 5% of people in the semaglutide trial to stop taking it and 6-7% in the tirzepatide trial. People in the semaglutide trial also experienced problems with gallstones. The drugs also carry serious risks including kidney failure, pancreatitis and thyroid cancer. Another downside has been dubbed "Ozempic face". Facial ageing is a side effect of sudden weight loss as people find the skin on their face sagging where once it was plump. The drugs also only work for as long as you carry on taking them, and people have reported gaining back all the weight they lost after stopping the drug - either out of choice or because of a supply shortage. In August, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) - the body that provides guidance on the use of new drugs - said that people coming off the drugs should be offered "structured advice and follow-up support" to help prevent weight gain. This includes being monitored by the NHS for at least a year after completing treatment and support to help build "long-term behavioural habits, use self-monitoring tools, and draw on wider support - from online communities to family-led interventions and local activities". Shortages for diabetics Perhaps a bigger conversation than side effects for individuals is around the impact on people who rely on these treatments, now they've exploded in popularity as a weight loss quick-fix. While intended for diabetics, Ozempic and Mounjaro are prescribed "off-label" in the US to people wanting to shed weight. The drugs faced widespread shortage last year, with reports of diabetics having to drive from pharmacy to pharmacy in search of stock because of the high demand. Links to cancer prevention Research has suggested weight loss jabs, officially GLP-1 receptor agonists, could almost halve the risk of obesity-related cancers. The study, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga. It found that there were similar rates of obesity -related cancer among patients treated with the injections and those given weight loss, or bariatric, surgery. Dr Yael Wolff Sagy, the study's co-lead author from Clalit Health Services in Tel-Aviv, Israel, said a "direct effect" of the injections was that they were found "to be 41% more effective at preventing obesity-related cancer". "We do not yet fully understand how GLP-1s work," she said. "But this study adds to the growing evidence showing that weight loss alone cannot completely account for the metabolic, anti-cancer, and many other benefits that these medications provide." Co-lead Professor Dror Dicker, from Hasharon Hospital, Rabin Medical Centre in Israel, suggested the protective effects of the drugs "likely arise from multiple mechanisms, including reducing inflammation". He added further research was needed "to make sure that these drugs do not increase the risk for non-obesity-related cancers". Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, causing more than one in 20 cancer cases, according to the NHS. Are they available in the UK? An estimated 1.5 million people are taking weight loss jabs in the UK, the vast majority of whom pay for them privately. Ozempic is available in the UK for type 2 diabetes patients with a prescription. Wegovy and Mounjaro is available to NHS patients, but only through specialist weight management services. Over the next three years, around 240,000 people with the "greatest need" are expected to receive Mounjaro through the NHS. However, Sky News research into Wegovy and Mounjaro shows delays in the rollout of both weight loss jabs.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Experts reveal potential unintended side effect of Ozempic – and whether we should worry
The use of weight-loss jabs in the UK has skyrocketed, with an estimated 1.5 million people using them. Yet drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy don't just help people lose fat, but potentially muscle too, new research has suggested. A study that tested weight loss jabs on mice found that although muscle mass changes less than expected, muscles still get weaker and tissues like the liver also shrink. Weight-loss injections, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by mimicking the natural hormone which regulates blood sugar, appetite and digestion. The medications, known as semaglutides, predominantly treat diabetes but are also available on the NHS or via private providers to help adults with a high body mass index (BMI). For example, although Ozempic is used for type 2 diabetes, it is sometimes prescribed off-label as a weight-loss drug. The results of the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, revealed Ozempic -induced weight loss decreased muscle mass by about 10 per cent. Most of this lost weight wasn't from skeletal muscles, which surround bones and joints, but instead from other tissues like the liver, which shrank by nearly half. However, because the Ozempic was tested on mice, researchers emphasise that more research is needed to determine whether similar changes to organ size occur in humans and whether those changes come with any risks. 'Loss of mass in metabolically active organs, such as the liver, is expected as part of healthy weight loss,' said Dr Ran Hee Choi, research instructor in nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah college of health, and co-first author on the study. In both mice and humans, weight gain and loss can affect the size of organs like the liver without affecting their function. 'It's unlikely that the observed lean mass loss represents a serious adverse effect,' added Dr Takuya Karasawa, another co-first author on the study. Researchers found some skeletal muscles did shrink by about 6 per cent as the mice lost weight, but not enough to explain the overall muscle loss. However, when someone gains fat, they also tend to gain skeletal muscle. Study authors explain this is because the body needs to work harder to move around. As a result, losing extra fat can lead to a loss of muscle, which will not affect the person's overall quality of life. Researchers also tested the amount of force the mice's muscles exerted and found that some muscle strength decreased as the mice lost weight, even when the size of the muscle stayed roughly the same. This potential loss of strength when taking Ozempic could be a particular concern for adults over the age of 60 who are at a higher risk of muscle loss and reduced mobility. 'The loss of physical function is a strong predictor of not just quality of life but longevity,' added Dr Katsu Funai, professor of nutrition at the University of Utah and the senior author on the study. Dr Funai concluded that further clinical trials of weight loss jabs should check for changes in muscle strength. A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, said: 'In clinical trial for Wegovy or Ozempic we did not specifically study the medicine's impact on muscle mass. In a sub-study of 140 patients with a BMI of 40 or less, analysis suggested that treatment with Wegovy was accompanied by reductions in both fat and lean body mass, with a greater reduction in fat mass than lean body mass. 'We recommend that any patients experiencing side effects while taking Wegovy or Ozempic contact their healthcare provider.'
