2024-01-05 01:55:13
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(Reuters) – MSD is pursuing GLP-1 treatments that offer benefits beyond weight loss, the company’s chief executive, Robert Davis, said on Thursday at a conference.
New GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic, and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, are expected to generate annual sales in excess of $100 billion by the end of the decade .
The investigational MSD drug efinopegdutide, which belongs to the GLP-1 class and is being developed as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH), has also shown a “compelling” weight loss benefit.
Showing benefits beyond weight loss could favor the medications, according to Davis.
“If you can show cardiovascular outcomes, if you can show outcomes for diabetes, which we’re starting to see data for, if you can see benefits for fatty liver disease…that’s an area where we think there are opportunities,” he said.
GLP-1 medications, which help control blood levels and make you feel full, are also undergoing studies to see if they can improve health in other ways.
Data from last year suggested that semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, may also reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack. Additionally, it may slow the progression of kidney disease in patients with diabetes.
Bloomberg first reported Davis’ comments on Thursday.
(Reporting by Pratik Jain and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru)
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