Not every obese/overweight person who takes these drugs loses a lot of weight. some lose a lot, but others may only lose 8-13%, hence there will still be a lot of obese or overweight people even with full market penetration
Some people discontinue usage due to side effects or other reasons
It's possible that these drugs eventually stop working. This is a common problem with weight loss treatments in general, such as bypass or band, in which lost weight is regained after many years due to the body adapting or other reasons. The body is really good at resisting weight loss and will do everything possible to try to return the weight to its set point.
People choosing to be obese, in a culture that shames fatness, seems like a lot to hang the US economy on. That a single drug could have that much of an effect is astounding. That the obesity epidemic has been that big a driver of sales is more newsworthy to me. I wonder what other negative things have resulted in better sales and thus GDP. Divorces was one I heard bandied about that drives sales - the kids need two of everything, resulting in more sales.
This is just getting started. VKTX just reported phase 1 results of their GLP1/GIP dual agonist. It appears effective in reducing liver fat (NASH), plasma lipips and weight. The side effects were mild to moderate.
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[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 22.9 ms ] threadNot every obese/overweight person who takes these drugs loses a lot of weight. some lose a lot, but others may only lose 8-13%, hence there will still be a lot of obese or overweight people even with full market penetration
Some people discontinue usage due to side effects or other reasons
It's possible that these drugs eventually stop working. This is a common problem with weight loss treatments in general, such as bypass or band, in which lost weight is regained after many years due to the body adapting or other reasons. The body is really good at resisting weight loss and will do everything possible to try to return the weight to its set point.
TERN and GPCR are also in the game.