Bariatric surgery cuts cancer risk by 25%, obesity as a key public health threat in the US, only 9% of anti-obesity meds prescriptions are filled, and payer strategies for GLP-1 drugs.
I hope you are all enjoying a late summer weekend with family and friends.
Key items this week have included news of a 25% reduction in the risk of cancer after bariatric surgery; that only 9% of prescriptions for obesity medicines were filled over 60 days; that obesity is believed to be one of the top three threats to American public health; and that payers are engaged in trying to figure out how to manage costs in the face of increasing demand for expensive GLP-1s (see the work of Deanna Bell and her colleagues at international actuarial and consulting firm Milliman).
Closer to home, I am thrilled to report that twenty30 health is nearly nine months old, and we are growing and thriving! Our team of employees and advisors has exceeded twenty folks now, a combination of clinicians, data scientists, technologists and business people focused on pioneering a truly multimodal approach to obesity medicine to achieve the optimal outcome for our patients; one which is focused upon whole-person, individualized care journeys, encompassing nutrition, behavioral, exercise, medication and surgical therapies. It is the honor of a career to be a part of this mission with these talented colleagues.
Kind regards, Raj
AT A GLANCE
The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, ‘…expects to issue best practice guidance by the end of the year on covering Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs…’ according to Michael Thompson, President and CEO of from Sara Hansard at Bloomberg.
Teladoc, Found, Hello Alpha, and Calibrate ‘…have advanced enterprise products that pair virtual visits and prescriptions with lifestyle coaching,’ mentioned in reporting from Katie Palmer at STAT News.
Matthew Herper reports on the ‘ground truth’ of the SELECT trial whereby ‘…Overweight volunteers who took Wegovy were 20% less likely to have either a heart attack, stroke, or to die from cardiovascular causes…’
The top three answers to the question, ‘what do you think is the #1 threat to American public health at this moment?’, in order, were opioids and fentanyl [26%], obesity [23%], and access to guns or firearms [20%]; this from global market research firm IPSOS, based on interviews with over 1,100 American adults.
From a total of 1,563 patients, with a mean body mass index of 38.4 kg/m2 who were all prescribed an anti-obesity medication between 2012 and 2019, only 9% of patients filled their prescription within 60 days, as per research published in the Journal of Managed Care + Specialty Pharmacy.
Bariatric surgery recipients had ‘…a 25% lower risk of developing any cancers compared with a nonsurgical comparison group’ over four decades. This is according to research published by Dr. Ted Adams on over twenty thousand patients who underwent bariatric surgery.
Deanna Bell and colleagues at Milliman publish a white paper on ‘Payer strategies for GLP-1 medications for weight loss…’ in order to help ‘…payers understand the landscape, develop a coverage strategy, and minimize waste.’
NEWS
Michael Thompson, President and CEO of The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, which represents employer and union health-care coalitions that spend over $400 billion a year covering more than 45 million Americans, ‘…expects to issue best practice guidance by the end of the year on covering Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs…’from Sara Hansard at Bloomberg. Jeff Levin-Scherz, population health leader for management consulting company WTW added that Novo Nordisk’s findings of cardiovascular and other health benefits ‘…will strengthen the case for covering the GLP-1 drugs.’
Levin-Scherz adds ‘…employers might not cover the drugs because of the cost… (they may) adopt prior authorization requirements, and limit coverage to those who will benefit most, such as people who are obese and have heart disease.’
Long-term clinical and financial outcomes of patients on GLP-1 therapy, a multimodal approach to care, and competition to drive down drug pricing are all levers to pull us through the current challenges.
In Greenville, North Carolina, Thermo Fisher is reportedly ‘…doing the filling of the Wegovy injection pens…’ on behalf of Novo Nordisk, as the latter focuses on meeting exploding demand in part by turning to contract manufacturers. The source declined to be named, in a brief article from Maggie Fick at Reuters.
In Denmark, well known to many as the home of Novo Nordisk, ‘…Copenhagen-based Embla, a digital weight management clinic, has just raised a €10m Series A to conquer the British market…’ in a news story from Zosia Wanat at sifted, a media brand focused on the European startup community. The two founders, ‘…medical doctor Nicholas Syhler and serial entrepreneur Laust Wilster Axelsen, insist that their app is much more than an Ozempic-vendor… [with] …access to doctors and nurses, and regular check-ins with personalised health coaches.’
80 thoughts on “Bariatric surgery cuts cancer risk by 25%, obesity as a key public health threat in the US, only 9% of anti-obesity meds prescriptions are filled, and payer strategies for GLP-1 drugs.”
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