The World Health Organization has added a new set of drugs for obesity and diabetes to its essential medicines list, alongside treatments for cancer and cystic fibrosis.
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.
“High prices of medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide are limiting access to these medicines,” the WHO statement added, saying that encouraging generic drugmakers to produce the product would also help when patents begin to expire on the drugs next year.
The expert committee added the active ingredients in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro to the list, to treat type 2 diabetes in conjunction with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or obesity.
The medicines were initially developed for diabetes and have become wildly popular as weight-loss drugs, too, under different brand names.
However, the WHO stopped short of adding them to treat obesity alone, as it also did in 2023. The committee said this decision provided clear guidance on which patients would most benefit from the therapies.
According to the WHO, more than 800 million people around the world were living with diabetes in 2022, while more than one billion people are affected by obesity.
WHO data shows that, in 2021, more than 3.7 million people died from conditions linked to being overweight or obese – a number that exceeds the combined deaths from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.
Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s assistant director-general for Health Systems, Access and Data, said, “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.”
The WHO also recommended strategies to increase access to Merck’s top-selling cancer immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, for the treatment of cervical cancers, colorectal cancers, and non-small cell lung cancers that have spread or metastasized.
The agency further added rapid-acting insulin analogues, also made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, among others, to the list for treating type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.
The World Health Organization’s decision to add weight-loss and diabetes drugs to its essential medicines list is expected to have a significant impact on global health.
By including these medicines in the list, the WHO is urging countries to prioritize their availability and affordability, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where access to essential medicines is often limited.
The addition of these medicines to the essential medicines list highlights the growing concern about obesity and diabetes worldwide.
With over 800 million people living with diabetes and more than one billion people affected by obesity, the need for effective and affordable treatments is pressing.
The WHO’s emphasis on making these medicines accessible can help reduce the burden of these diseases and improve health outcomes for millions of people.
The WHO’s recommendation to increase access to Merck’s cancer immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, is also significant.
By promoting strategies to make this drug more widely available, the WHO aims to improve treatment options for patients with cervical, colorectal, and non-small cell lung cancers.
This move underscores the organization’s commitment to ensuring that essential medicines are accessible to those who need them most.
As the WHO continues to update its essential medicines list, it is likely that more medicines will be added to address emerging health challenges.
The organization’s efforts to promote accessibility and affordability of essential medicines are crucial in ensuring that people around the world have access to the treatments they need to live healthy lives.
By working together to address these challenges, we can improve health outcomes and reduce the burden of diseases globally.