Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their normal appetite return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
