Like many Americans wishing to lose weight, Marissa Montanino felt compelled to try Ozempic, a very popular treatment in the United States and seen as revolutionary in the fight against obesity.
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“I did sports sometimes three times a day,” the 36-year-old beautician told AFP. “I was eating really, really healthy… and nothing changed.”
“I had already heard about Ozempic and then I started seeing other people taking it, like celebrities, who suddenly lost weight very quickly,” she continues.
But Ms. Montanino feared the risk of gastrointestinal disorders that can accompany this injectable antidiabetic from the Danish laboratory Novo Nordisk, authorized since 2017 in the United States.
“I was scared, I was very anxious,” she explains. “I’m terrified of feeling nauseous.”
When she finally took the plunge, her doctor did not prescribe Ozempic but a personalized pharmaceutical preparation that included the same active molecule as in Novo Nordisk’s patented injections: semaglutide, which sends a satiety signal to the brain. .
The preparations have long been used in the United States when a patient has an allergy to a compound of a drug.
More than 40% of the American population suffers from obesity, a sign of a major public health crisis and a gigantic market for these new variants of Ozempic, given their effectiveness.
“The main problem is that it is now difficult to obtain treatments,” researcher and doctor Samuel Klein of Washington University in St. Louis told AFP. “There are not enough drugs being made.”
Ozempic was in fact recently out of stock, after causing a furor on social networks for its weight-loss properties.
The American Medicines Agency (FDA) has classified semaglutide and tirzepatide – a molecule used by the American group Eli Lilly’s drugs against diabetes and obesity – as currently in “shortage”.
Copies
This designation lifts certain restrictions, allowing companies to make preparations that are “essentially copies of authorized drugs,” according to the FDA.
Many Americans are therefore turning to these options, sometimes cheaper, but experts and authorities warn of potential associated risks.
Andrea Coviello, a doctor specializing in obesity, told AFP she was worried about her patients who order this type of preparation, often on the internet.
If some have lost weight, “we don’t know exactly what they are receiving,” insists the professor at the University of North Carolina.
Marissa Montanino, who measures 1.53 m, details having gone from 71.2 kg to 58.9 kg in less than six months thanks to her weekly injections. She is aiming for 56.7 kg.
Among the people with whom she communicates by message and who also take weight loss treatments, “everyone is very happy” and only one person takes a brand drug, Wegovy, also produced by the Danish Novo Nordisk.
“Good about myself”
The American authorities alerted at the end of October to the fact that “(pharmaceutical) preparations pose an increased risk for patients compared to drugs authorized by the FDA”, because they “do not undergo an evaluation before being placed on the market. in terms of safety, effectiveness or quality.
The FDA has “received reports of adverse events following the use of semaglutide in preparations,” it states on its site, without giving further details.
A simple online search shows that several companies offer slimming preparations delivered by mail, with prices much lower than brand name drugs, but not necessarily cheaper for those who have health coverage that covers drugs authorized by the FDA.
Marissa Montanino paid $300 for three months of treatment, but as the dosage gradually increased, that could turn into $300 per month.
The Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly laboratories, which already earn billions of dollars from their drugs, have every interest in ensuring that these molecules are no longer considered “in shortage” and strengthen their production capacity.
The two companies have also filed several complaints against laboratories making preparations similar to their products.
Despite the uncertainty, Ms. Montanino plans to take this treatment “for life,” if possible.
She celebrated her weight loss and that of her husband, who lost 22 kg, by taking wedding photos again.
“I feel good about myself. I am very happy with the way my clothes fit me. I hate to say it… But, it makes me feel better.”
The new generation of drugs against obesity
Wegovy, Mounjaro, Ozempic… These drugs are panicking the pharmaceutical sector and fueling the hopes of millions of patients around the world: they treat diabetes, help you lose weight and can be used to treat obesity. What are they, what do they process, who makes them?
The class of GLP-1 analogues
These drugs mimic a hormone secreted by the intestines GLP-1 (short for glugaco-like peptide 1) which stimulates insulin secretion and curbs the appetite by providing a feeling of fullness.
People use these medications to manage type 2 diabetes, the most common type, and/or lose weight.
Their administration is generally done by weekly injection, but pharmaceutical groups such as Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Pfizer are seeking to develop tablets to be swallowed every day.
These treatments can have side effects such as nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal disturbances.
Wegovy and Ozempic at Novo Nordisk
At the Danish Novo Nordisk, the world number one in diabetes, the semaglutide molecule is used in the drug Wegovy, against obesity, and in the drug Ozempic, against type 2 diabetes.
Wegovy has been authorized in the United States since 2021. It is marketed in Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom and recently in Switzerland. The laboratory wants to apply for certification in France in 2024.
Ozempic has been authorized since 2017 in the United States. It was recently out of stock, after becoming all the rage on social media for its weight-loss properties.
In the United States alone, Wegovy and Ozempic are expected to generate sales of USD 8.1 billion (EUR 7.4 billion) and USD 2.1 billion (EUR 1.9 billion) respectively by 2031. according to a GlobalData report published in March.
Mounjaro and Zepbound at Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly’s molecule, tirzepatide, is marketed under the name Mounjaro for people suffering from type 2 diabetes, since the green light from the American health authorities in 2022. It is also sometimes prescribed outside of official recommendations in the only goal of losing weight.
But since November 8, this molecule has also been approved to treat obesity, under the name Zepbound in the United States.
Zepbound is aimed at obese people, and overweight people suffering from comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension).
The price was set by Eli Lilly at $1,060 (EUR 972) per month.
