2023-11-08 19:42:49
American health authorities announced on Wednesday that they had approved a highly anticipated drug from the American group Eli Lilly against obesity, the latest entrant into a market that has become major for the pharmaceutical industry.
The treatment, which will be marketed under the name Zepbound in the United States, is administered by injection once a week.
The molecule used was already approved against diabetes, and sometimes already prescribed outside of official recommendations by certain doctors for weight loss, given its effectiveness.
In a large clinical trial, Zepbound achieved significant weight loss, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement.
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Zepbound is now authorized for people who are obese, or overweight and have a related health problem (type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension).
Its use should be combined with exercise and a low-calorie diet, specifies the FDA.
This drug belongs to a new generation of treatments, mimicking a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1) which activates receptors in the brain playing a role in regulating appetite.
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Eli Lilly’s molecule, tirzepatide, was already marketed under the name Mounjaro for people suffering from type 2 diabetes, since FDA authorization in 2022.
The Novo Nordisk laboratory uses a molecule called semaglutide, authorized against obesity in the United States since 2021 under the name Wegovy.
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Its diabetes counterpart, authorized since 2017 and called Ozempic, has recently experienced periodic stock shortages, after causing a furor on social networks for its weight-loss properties.
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