Diet Part One
The research for this Blog Post began last August when I noticed the stock of a sleepy 100-year old Danish drugmaker rose 30% in one day. Seems this Company, Noro Nordisk (NVO), had not one but two new and highly successful drugs on the Market. Both drugs are once-weekly injectables of a ingredient called semaglutide: Ozempic is prescribed for Type 2 Diabetics and Wegovy is approved for weight loss. Both were selling like crazy in Europe and creating a supply problem for Diabetics who needed Ozempic for “real” medical reasons and other consumers who only wanted Ozempic because Wegovy was out of supply and they wanted to lose weight. Hmmmmm I said at the time, sorry I didn’t know before the stock jumped. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!
In April 2023 Weight Watchers International announced the purchase of Sequence a one-stop weight management telehealth platform that employs clinicians able to prescribe drugs online. Sequence costs 99 dollars per month for access to its online platform. In October 2023, Oprah announced she lost over 60 pounds using a weight loss medication called Zepbound. Created by Eli Lilly (LLY), Zepbound just recently received FDA approval for weigh loss treatment. It is in the same Class of Drug (GLP-1) as Ozempic and Wegovy, delivered the same way by injecting into the stomach. The next day Weight Watchers announced the launch of the new Weight Watchers partnership with Sequence to deliver Zepbound to WW clients. A subscription to Sequence would be required. No more counting points for WW clients.
Flash forward to the TV commercials I started to see touting new weight loss drugs set to a catchy jingle. Then an October 20, 2023, a Wall Street Journal article pointed out the lack of a “modern” definition of Obesity is causing Insurance companies to hesitate to cover these drugs. Under the current definition of Obesity, half of the US population qualifies for Wegovy.
On Friday, January 5, 2024 as reported by the WSJ, Eli Lilly launched a Direct Sales Online service specifically to sell its “new anti-obesity drug Zepbound”. According to the article, the new service called LlllyDirect will take Lilly into new terrain and turns it into a rival to firms like Weight Watchers and even the Pharmacies the firm sells its drugs to. Buy the way, do you want to know exactly HOW these drugs achieve weight loss? They send a chemical signal to your brain that you are no longer hungry. Yup. And you lose weight. As long as you keep injecting the drug into your stomach every week. Simple. The average retail price without insurance is $1000 per month. I’ll have more to say on this. For all you worriers or conspiracy theorists – it might be time to circle the wagons. There is a smell of PROFITS in the air and I’m just interested in maybe getting more than my fair share if possible.
kongoboken 