Most people are more comfortable taking a pill than regularly injecting themselves, says Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist at the University of Toronto, who previously consulted for Novo Nordisk. It's just good to have more options for people, he says. At the same time, the pills could greatly improve access to the medication by lowering coststhe injections can cost hundreds of dollars per month out of pocket.
is being driven by robust demand growth and ongoing inventory reduction, alongside regulatory tightening, including the shutdown of a major Chinese lithium mine by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) and new government measures aimed at preventing producers from selling lithium at unsustainably low prices. The increased recognition of lithium as a critical mineral, combined with Western concerns over China's control of global supply chains, is bolstering the sector outside of China.
GLP-1 is the naturally produced hormone whose function is being mimicked by drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide, the active ingredients in popular and highly effective weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound. As CNN reports, two biotech startups are working on gene therapy treatments that would require, in a best-case scenario, a single injection that would reprogram the body's cells to produce the hormone instead of relying on weekly injections like current drugs.
The OASIS 4 phase 3 trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, marks a major advance in Novo Nordisk's effort to expand obesity treatment options. Conducted over 64 weeks, the study compared once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg plus lifestyle changes with a placebo in 307 adults who were obese or overweight and had at least one weight-related condition, but did not have diabetes.
A daily pill for weight loss can help people reduce their body weight by as much as a fifth, according to a trial that could pave the way for millions more people to shed pounds. The drug, called orforglipron, is manufactured by Eli Lilly and targets the same GLP-1 receptors as weight loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. In a trial of 3,127 adults, one in five people who took the once-a-day tablet for 72 weeks lost 20% or more of their body weight.
In July, Sundberg published a newsletter headlined "1 in 3 Feed Me readers surveyed use a GLP-1." Despite being sponsored by a company that sells weight-loss medication, the post doesn't shy away sharing its negative perceptions. In one anonymous quote submission, a reader said, "It's kind of cheating, shouldn't we all work to get healthy, not thin?" Another said: "I am still embarrassed for other people if they get on them."
The list, consisting of 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children, is a catalogue of the drugs the WHO believes should be available in all functioning health systems. The new editions of essential medicines lists mark a significant step toward expanding access to new medicines with proven clinical benefits and with high potential for global public health impact, said Yukiko Nakatani, WHO's assistant director-general for Health Systems, Access and Data.