Latest news with #NOVOb.CO
NBC News
9 hours ago
- Health
- NBC News
Wegovy use among U.S. teens up 50% as obesity crisis worsens
American teens are increasingly turning to the weight-loss drug Wegovy as more families and their doctors gain confidence in its use for young people with obesity, new data shared with Reuters shows. The average rate of teens beginning treatment with the highly effective Novo Nordisk drug grew 50% last year to 14.8 prescriptions per 100,000 adolescents, according to an analysis by health data firm Truveta. That's up from a rate of 9.9 prescriptions per 100,000 in 2023, the first full year that Wegovy was available to children aged 12 and older. The average rate climbed further during the first three months of this year, reaching 17.3 new prescriptions per 100,000. That still represents a minute fraction of the estimated 23,000 out of every 100,000 teens in the country who are living with obesity, and is far slower than the uptake among U.S. adults. 'It's promising that more young people are using these medications, but it's still a very small percentage of patients with severe obesity that are getting access to them,' said Dr. Cate Varney, director of obesity medicine at the University of Virginia Health system. 'When lifestyle changes alone are insufficient, we need these additional tools.' For its analysis, Truveta reviewed the electronic health records of 1.3 million patients ages 12 through 17. The data covers 30 U.S. health systems with more than 900 hospitals and 20,000 clinics across the country. The analysis did not include other GLP-1 drugs, including Novo's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's LLY.N Zepbound, which are not approved to treat obesity in adolescents, or compounded versions of these therapies. Wegovy became an option to treat adolescents in late 2022 after decades in which the conventional approaches of diet, exercise and counseling largely failed. About 8 million American teens, or 23% of people ages 12 to 19, have obesity, up from 5% in 1980, according to U.S. government data. Young people with obesity run a much higher risk of developing chronic, costly, life-shortening conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular and liver diseases. In January 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommended that doctors provide weight-loss drugs to children with obesity starting at age 12. Yet the medical community has not uniformly embraced GLP-1s for adolescents. Some doctors are hesitant because the drugs' long-term safety for children during a critical phase of development is unknown, and the treatments may need to be used indefinitely. Overall, there are limited options for many teens and their parents because insurance plans often do not cover any treatment for obesity, including intensive behavioral counseling, visits with a dietician or the new GLP-1 medications. At Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, the Healthy Weight and Wellness Clinic treated about 2,000 adolescent patients last year. About 25% were prescribed Wegovy or another GLP-1 medication, said Dr. Thao-Ly Phan, the clinic's medical director. The number of adolescents with a GLP-1 prescription nearly doubled from 2023. On average, their patients taking a GLP-1 drug lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg) within 6 to 12 months, and nearly 30 pounds after more than a year. For many of the other patients, the medications were not an option, either because of insurance hurdles or concern within families about potential risks. Other teens opted for lifestyle changes or older, cheaper weight-loss drugs, with some success. 'It is important for us to continue to monitor and better understand outcomes from the medications — both positive and negative — before widespread use,' Phan said. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the idea of prescribing Ozempic or Wegovy widely to children to treat obesity. In a federal health report he released last month, GLP-1 drugs were cited as an example of the 'overmedicalization of our kids.' It noted a lack of 'long-term safety data, raising the specter of unforeseen problems that interrupt, damage, or impair metabolism and growth development.' Novo in a statement said semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, 'did not appear to affect growth or pubertal development' during its clinical trials involving teens. For many adults, Novo said, obesity starts in childhood or adolescence, and 'we are confident in the proven safety and efficacy of our GLP-1 medicines.' Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound is in late-stage clinical trials for use by adolescents. Lilly told Reuters that 'there has been no evidence to date suggesting impairment in growth or metabolism' from GLP-1 medications. Dr. Robert Siegel, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Better Health and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said about 15% of adolescents being treated there were prescribed Wegovy or a similar GLP-1 medication from July 2021 to July 2023. They include patients being treated for type 2 diabetes for which the GLP-1 drugs were originally developed. Siegel said he prefers to start teens on three to six months of intensive lifestyle management before even considering medication. While obesity specialists can help navigate potential risks from the drugs, many primary-care providers need more training, he said. They may not have the equipment to monitor for the loss of muscle mass — a side effect of these medicines — or lack the resources to work with families over an extended period on healthier eating and exercise. 'These medications are likely to be needed for a very long time to maintain weight,' Siegel said, 'and we only have a relatively short-term experience with them.'
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Hims to acquire UK-based startup Zava as it expands international presence
NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Telehealth platform Hims & Hers (HIMS.N), opens new tab said on Tuesday it will acquire London-based startup Zava for an undisclosed amount, allowing it to launch its offerings in Germany, France and Ireland and reach more international patients. The move comes as Hims is adjusting to a regulatory ban in the United States on manufacturing mass copies of Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, that took effect on May 22. Hims began offering copies of Wegovy in 2024, and saw a boost in its revenues, when the branded version of the highly in-demand drug was in shortage. Shares of the telehealth firm have dropped nearly 9% in the last two weeks. It recently entered into an agreement with Novo to help patients access brand-name Wegovy, and plans to enter the market for low testosterone and menopause treatments in pursuit of new growth opportunities. Hims did not provide financial terms of the deal, but a company spokesperson said these details will be shared with its second-quarter results expected in August. It plans to fund the acquisition through cash on its balance sheet at closing. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year. Backed by equity firm HPE Growth, Zava provides medical consultations and delivery of prescription medicines - including weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Wegovy - to its more than 1 million customers across United Kingdom, Germany, France and Ireland. Hims said it plans to introduce personalized skin care, weight loss and other offerings for patients in these markets and will introduce an option for patients to interact with their healthcare providers in local languages. Last week, Hims also said it will cut about 4% of its workforce but still plans to hire for roles related to its long-term growth strategy.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Health
- Reuters
Wegovy use among US teens up 50% as obesity crisis worsens
LOS ANGELES, June 3 (Reuters) - American teens are increasingly turning to the weight-loss drug Wegovy as more families and their doctors gain confidence in its use for young people with obesity, new data shared with Reuters shows. The average rate of teens beginning treatment with the highly effective Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab drug grew 50% last year to 14.8 prescriptions per 100,000 adolescents, according to an analysis by health data firm Truveta. That's up from a rate of 9.9 prescriptions per 100,000 in 2023, the first full year that Wegovy was available to children aged 12 and older. The average rate climbed further during the first three months of this year, reaching 17.3 new prescriptions per 100,000. That still represents a minute fraction of the estimated 23,000 out of every 100,000 teens in the country who are living with obesity, and is far slower than the uptake among U.S. adults. "It's promising that more young people are using these medications, but it's still a very small percentage of patients with severe obesity that are getting access to them," said Dr. Cate Varney, director of obesity medicine at the University of Virginia Health system. "When lifestyle changes alone are insufficient, we need these additional tools." For its analysis, Truveta reviewed the electronic health records of 1.3 million patients ages 12 through 17. The data covers 30 U.S. health systems with more than 900 hospitals and 20,000 clinics across the country. The analysis did not include other GLP-1 drugs, including Novo's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens new tab Zepbound, which are not approved to treat obesity in adolescents, or compounded versions of these therapies. Wegovy became an option to treat adolescents in late 2022 after decades in which the conventional approaches of diet, exercise and counseling largely failed. About 8 million American teens, or 23% of people ages 12 to 19, have obesity, up from 5% in 1980, according to U.S. government data. Young people with obesity run a much higher risk of developing chronic, costly, life-shortening conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular and liver diseases. In January 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommended that doctors provide weight-loss drugs to children with obesity starting at age 12. Yet the medical community has not uniformly embraced GLP-1s for adolescents. Some doctors are hesitant because the drugs' long-term safety for children during a critical phase of development is unknown, and the treatments may need to be used indefinitely. Overall, there are limited options for many teens and their parents because insurance plans often do not cover any treatment for obesity, including intensive behavioral counseling, visits with a dietician or the new GLP-1 medications. At Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, the Healthy Weight and Wellness Clinic treated about 2,000 adolescent patients last year. About 25% were prescribed Wegovy or another GLP-1 medication, said Dr. Thao-Ly Phan, the clinic's medical director. The number of adolescents with a GLP-1 prescription nearly doubled from 2023. On average, their patients taking a GLP-1 drug lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg) within 6 to 12 months, and nearly 30 pounds after more than a year. For many of the other patients, the medications were not an option, either because of insurance hurdles or concern within families about potential risks. Other teens opted for lifestyle changes or older, cheaper weight-loss drugs, with some success. "It is important for us to continue to monitor and better understand outcomes from the medications – both positive and negative – before widespread use," Phan said. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the idea of prescribing Ozempic or Wegovy widely to children to treat obesity. In a federal health report he released last month, GLP-1 drugs were cited as an example of the "overmedicalization of our kids." It noted a lack of "long-term safety data, raising the specter of unforeseen problems that interrupt, damage, or impair metabolism and growth development." Novo in a statement said semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, 'did not appear to affect growth or pubertal development' during its clinical trials involving teens. For many adults, Novo said, obesity starts in childhood or adolescence, and "we are confident in the proven safety and efficacy of our GLP-1 medicines." Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound is in late-stage clinical trials for use by adolescents. Lilly told Reuters that "there has been no evidence to date suggesting impairment in growth or metabolism" from GLP-1 medications. Dr. Robert Siegel, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Better Health and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said about 15% of adolescents being treated there were prescribed Wegovy or a similar GLP-1 medication from July 2021 to July 2023. They include patients being treated for type 2 diabetes for which the GLP-1 drugs were originally developed. Siegel said he prefers to start teens on three to six months of intensive lifestyle management before even considering medication. While obesity specialists can help navigate potential risks from the drugs, many primary-care providers need more training, he said. They may not have the equipment to monitor for the loss of muscle mass - a side effect of these medicines - or lack the resources to work with families over an extended period on healthier eating and exercise. "These medications are likely to be needed for a very long time to maintain weight," Siegel said, "and we only have a relatively short-term experience with them."
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Hims to cut 4% of workforce amid ban on weight-loss drug copies
NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Telehealth platform Hims & Hers (HIMS.N), opens new tab will cut 68 employees, or about 4% of its workforce, as it adjusts to a U.S. ban on manufacturing mass copies of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on compounded copies of Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk ( opens new tab, took effect on May 22. Hims shares have since dropped 14%. The company confirmed the job cuts in a statement on Friday. On Saturday, it said that the reductions were not related to the compounding ban. Hims did not provide details about the roles that were cut, but said they were implemented across teams. "These changes are focused on sharpening how we execute, without affecting our priorities or the specialties we're committed to," a company spokesperson said regarding the layoffs. Hims still plans to hire for roles related to its long-term growth strategy. The company recently announced an agreement with Novo to help patients access brand-name Wegovy. It plans to enter the market for low testosterone and menopause treatments and is looking at offerings to improve longevity and sleep. Bloomberg News reported the job cuts earlier on Friday. In 2022, the FDA declared a shortage of Wegovy, which has been shown to help patients lose around 15% of their body weight. That declaration allowed compounding pharmacies to produce the drug to meet demand. Hims began offering copies of Wegovy in 2024, often at far lower prices than the brand-name version. That boosted subscriptions to the Hims telehealth platform, with revenue up 111% on a yearly basis during the first quarter of 2025. Wegovy copies and similar GLP-1 weight-loss drugs accounted for $200 million of the company's $1.5 billion revenue in 2024. The FDA in February said Wegovy was no longer in shortage and ended the exception that allowed sale of mass compounded copies of the patented medication. Hims and its rivals have pivoted to what they say are customized copies of Wegovy that should not be subject to the FDA decision, featuring smaller doses or allowing for a more individualized plan for increasing dosage than offered by Novo. But analysts said that personalization strategy may not be enough to stave off new legal challenges from Novo. "It remains to be seen whether HIMS method of personalization (titration and dosage) is enough to meet the compounding clinical exemption need," said Jailendra Singh, a healthcare analyst at Truist.
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Abbott India's quarterly profit climbs 28% on strong demand
May 15 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Abbott India ( opens new tab reported a 28% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its gastrointestinal and anti-infective medications. The company, known for its PediaSure nutrition drink, reported a profit of 3.67 billion rupees ($43 million) for the quarter ended March 31, up from 2.87 billion rupees a year ago. Revenue from operations climbed 11.5% to 16.05 billion rupees. For further highlights, click. Anti-diabetic, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal drugs, which form a major chunk of Abbott India's drugs portfolio, saw the highest demand during the quarter, Elara Capital said. Moreover, strong demand for Rybelsus, the oral version of Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab blockbuster weight-loss drug semaglutide distributed by Abbott in India, also boosted sales, analysts said. Peer JB Chem and Pharma also reported higher quarterly profit on strong demand for its gastrointestinal drugs. PEER COMPARISON * Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell ** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT JANUARY TO MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 85.4620 Indian rupees
