Latest news with #FlyteHealth
Mint
24-05-2025
- Health
- Mint
Why some people are microdosing popular weight-loss drugs
Microdosing isn't just popular for psychedelics. Some consumers are taking smaller than standard doses of GLP-1s—the popular class of weight-loss and diabetes drugs that include Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound—or spacing out doses longer than indicated. The reason: to save on money or lessen side effects. Some people say they can lose or maintain weight on such tiny doses and others believe the microdoses can help with other health-related factors. The truth: This may be more of a social-media phenomenon than a reality. Doctors say yes, some people are super responders to the drugs and can lose or maintain weight loss at low doses—but it's unusual to lose all your weight with these. The majority of people microdosing will need to escalate their dose, which can be done more slowly for those with bad side effects, notably gastrointestinal issues. Still, people are trying microdosing. Here's what to know about it. The first challenge with microdosing is the method of delivery. The prescription drugs entail taking weekly self-injections with pens. Currently, most people taking alternative doses of GLP-1 drugs are using cheaper compounded versions of the medications, says Dr. Katherine H. Saunders, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of FlyteHealth, a medical obesity-treatment company. (Saunders, like many doctors, doesn't recommend compounded copies of the drugs because of potential safety issues; the federal government has cracked down on the compounded market). The only weekly GLP-1 drug that makes it easy to take alternative doses is Ozempic. It comes in a self-injectable pen where doses are administered with clicks. The other drugs have mostly been sold as single-dose injectable pens. But some patients will stretch out doses taking them every 10 days to two weeks. And once used the pens have a shelf life of 56 days. Zepbound single-dose vials became available in the U.S. last year for self-pay customers only. This makes it theoretically possible to microdose by drawing out smaller amounts of liquid with a syringe. But the single-use vials are free of preservatives. So using them after the rubber stopper is punctured increases risk of infection, says Anne Kome, a clinical pharmacist at University of North Carolina Health in Chapel Hill. Saunders says many people taking fractional doses likely don't meet the criteria for the drugs and are trying to lose a little weight or are hoping for potential longevity benefits. They are people like Rachel Ratliff, a 56-year-old retired corporate lawyer in San Francisco. She was effortlessly skinny until she hit menopause and gained 10 pounds. Ratliff says she was always ravenous and nothing she did to take the weight off worked. Ratliff decided to try a compounded version of tirzepatide—the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Mounjaro. 'I started taking [tirzepatide] out of vanity but it's completely changed my relationship to food and given me the ability to make healthier food choices," she says. Initially she took the usual starting dose of 2.5 milligrams, which wiped her out. Then she tried a quarter dose. 'It was amazing, it took the edge off my hunger," she says. Ratliff says she lost 10 pounds in the first six weeks and continues to take a maintenance dose. This costs about $50 a month. Saunders says some people are so-called 'super responders" who are very sensitive to medications and may need lower than a standard dose. 'We're personalizing the dose, not microdosing them on purpose," she says. Most people learn about microdosing from TikTok, according to a recent survey of 640 GLP-1 users conducted by Tebra, a health-software company. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they microdose. Among them, 48% take smaller injections than prescribed and 43% split doses over a longer period. Sixty-six percent microdosed to reduce side effects; 40% wanted to ease into the medication; and 38% did it to save money. Spokespeople for Novo Nordisk (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Eli Lilly (Mounjaro and Zepbound) said they don't condone or encourage misuse of their products. They said microdosing poses potential safety risks. Doctors agree that patients shouldn't be choosing to microdose on their own. 'What about a patient microdosing on their cancer therapeutic or how about microdosing on their blood pressure medication based on how they feel? Or how about their insulin?" says Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. 'We have a disease here—not cosmetics." Patients who try to conserve medicine by spreading out their doses may experience worse side effects, such as nausea and gastrointestinal issues, says Dr. Gitanjali Srivastava, a professor and co-director at the Vanderbilt Weight Loss Center. 'The body is not exposed to that medication for longer periods of time so they are less tolerable," she says. Taking doses that aren't standard can also lead to more dosing errors. One promising area of microdosing may be health benefits independent of weight loss, researchers say. Data published at the European Congress on Obesity conference last year found that people who took semaglutide—sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy—and didn't lose much weight had the same 20% reduction in heart attacks and strokes as those who took it and did lose weight, says Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist and professor at University of Toronto who studies GLP-1 drugs. 'And so then the question is, if it doesn't matter whether or not you lose weight, does it matter how much semaglutide you actually took to get that benefit?" he says. We don't know the answer, he says, because trials use standard doses of the drugs. 'I think what we're starting to see is that there are clearly weight loss and glucose independent benefits of these medicines," says Drucker. 'But what we don't have is data saying 'and you can achieve those benefits with microdosing.'" Write to Sumathi Reddy at
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BMO Hosts Second Annual Obesity Summit on the Future of the GLP-1+ Market
Healthcare industry experts and leaders to convene March 25 at the 2025 BMO Obesity Summit to examine outlook and trends in metabolic disease and drug therapies NEW YORK, March 18, 2025 /CNW/ - Join BMO and industry leaders in New York on March 25 for the BMO 2025 Obesity Summit to discuss the growing $150 billion obesity therapies market. The Summit features an exciting line-up of leaders in the space as well as next generation players from Altimmune, Amgen, Corbus Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, to FlyteHealth, Novo Nordisk, Roman Health, Scholar Rock and Structure Therapeutics. Participants will focus on the advances in GLP-1 drug therapies and feature expert insights from pharmacy benefit managers, patients, and providers to help identify and discuss the opportunities and challenges in this market. What: 2025 BMO Obesity Summit When: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 Where: Convene, 360 Madison Ave, New York Media: Register here The BMO Obesity Summit will deliver thought leadership and corporate management perspectives in a variety of formats such as fireside chats, expert panels and presentations, including: Discussions with leading life sciences companies hosted by BMO analysts, including Sr. Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals Analyst, Evan Seigerman Obesity 102 with Katherine Saunders, MD, Obesity Physician & Co-Founder, FlyteHealth A discussion with Dr. Louis J. Aronne, M.D., Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research Panels on care delivery, emerging technologies, coverage and access Insights from patients on GLP-1+ therapy For more information or to request an interview with one of BMO's equity research analysts, please contact BMO Media Relations using the contact details below. Note: There may be restrictions for media on access to some presentations. About BMO Financial Group BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.5 trillion as of January 31, 2025. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society. SOURCE BMO Financial Group View original content: Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Weight Loss Revolution Part 2: How Connecticut is helping state workers shed pounds
Click here to watch part one of Weight Loss Revolution: The pros and cons of weight loss drugs. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The biggest employer in Connecticut is the state. While other states have rolled back GLP-1 coverage, Connecticut is leaning in by partnering with a new program that state officials hope will save tax dollars in the long run. Darlene Erlingheuser-Marks is a math teacher at Kaynor Technical High School. She needed a bilateral knee replacement, but her doctor said she needed to lose weight to get the surgery. Weight Loss Revolution Part 1: The pros and cons of weight loss drugs 'I went to see a weight loss doctor, and he immediately jumped to weight loss surgery,' she said. 'I said it's not something I'm interested in, so he offered to prescribe Ozempic or something along those lines, one of those GLP medications. It just wasn't available. It wasn't something you could find a year ago.' Marks' predicament wasn't unique. Due to the rising popularity of weight loss medications, drug makers have struggled to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Sometimes, there are shortages, making finding GLP-1 medications impossible. Weighing the supply, demand and costs for these drugs. Comptroller Sean Scanlon said the state needed to change how insurance covers weight loss for state workers. 'We had a big problem, which was that our costs had increased by 50% in 2023 over what we had used the previous year, and rather than just turn off access to these drugs like other states are doing, or continue cover them and see our numbers go up and up, we were searching for an innovative solution and we found one in a Connecticut company,' he said. The state of Connecticut partnered with FlyteHealth, a medical weight management program co-founded by Dr. Katherine Saunders and Sloan Saunderes. Saunders is also an obesity physician at Cornell Medicine. 'The reason why the state of Connecticut brought us in is because we have the expertise,' she said. 'We have so much experience using the full range of obesity medications so we can do this in a way that's really effective but also cost-effective because we are prescribing the GLP-1s in a really judicious way.' By telehealth, Flyte pairs patients with a team of specialists and physicians to develop a detailed plan to tackle obesity. 'It's really important, before prescribing a really powerful medication like this, to do an extremely thorough evaluation of every single patient to understand every single factor that has led to their obesity and every single barrier that has made it hard to treat their obesity,' Saunders said, She said FlyteHealth ensures doctors know GLP-1 drugs aren't the only solution to weight loss. They can prescribe them as one of the many medications available. Marks enrolled in Flyte, and doctors prescribed her an anti-diabetic drug called Metformin and Topamax, a migraine medication. Marks said the drugs have helped quiet what's called 'food noise.' 'It was almost like a miracle,' she said. 'All of a sudden, I was like, I don't care what we're having for dinner. I'll worry about it when it's time to eat dinner.' Marks lost 70 pounds. 'I'm at the same weight I was in my 20s,' she said. 'And I'm 46 now. I'm wearing the same size now when I got married. That alone is a huge accomplishment.' The state of Connecticut has more than 40,000 people on its payroll. As of February, 11,000 state employees had enrolled in Flyte. For those who had been enrolled for more than a year, weight dropped an average of 16.6%. 'If we can make their health better, they will be more productive,' Scanlon said. 'I see it in the faces of state employees.' Since the start of Flyte in 2023, the comptroller's office says GLP-1 drug spending has dropped from 55% annual growth to 20%, reducing state projected costs by $10 million. Following the success of FlyteHealth's pilot, the state has chosen to expand the program for three years and expand coverage to retirees. The state is projecting 1,000 more employees join Flyte in 2025. 'The state is saving money in the problem in the long run because of all the other diseases that come along with untreated obesity, like heart disease, cancer, different problems that will cost the state more money in the long run,' he said. 'Every person who is a taxpayer in this state should want a productive, healthy workforce serving them on a daily basis.' This program has made a big difference in Marks's life. She is now eligible for knee surgery, but she said she won't need it soon. 'I haven't scheduled it yet because now I'm in less pain,' she said. 'And I'd like to put it off a little longer 'cause I'm not very old. I want a good healthy heart, and now that I'm moving more and being a more physically active person, I'm helping my body be healthier, which matters to me.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
