Weight-loss drugs could be considered ‘essential’ by WHO

March 31, 2023 – For the first time, the World Health Organization can add weight-loss drugs to the list of essential medicines it suggests countries around the world buy.

The WHO revises the list of “essential medicines” every two years, and the next list will be published in September. Three doctors and a researcher from the United States have sent a recommendation to the WHO committee finalizing the list, asking that the drug Saxenda be considered, according to Reuters.

It is unclear how the committee will react to the request to use drugs as treatments for obesity.

“We believe this is a work in progress,” WHO Nutrition Director Francesco Branca, MD, PhD, said during a press briefing on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Branca said issues to consider are the cost of the drug and that it may not have been used long enough to make the list. Saxenda may soon be sold as a generic drug, Reuters reported.

“At the same time, the WHO is studying the use of drugs to reduce weight … as part of a systematic review of guidelines for children and adolescents,” Branca said.

Saxenda has been approved by the FDA since 2014 and is currently used in the United States for obese people ages 12 and older. The FDA says the drug should be used in addition to a calorie-restricted diet and increased physical activity for the treatment of chronic weight management in people who have a body mass index (a combined measure of height and weight) of at least 30, or who have a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol.

Saxenda is an injection that contains liraglutide, which is a type of medicine called a GLP-1 receptor agonist. GLP-1 drugs work by telling the body to produce more insulin after eating, and the extra insulin then lowers blood sugar levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Many GLP-1 drugs are used to help people with type 2 diabetes, but the exact mechanism that leads to weight loss isn’t entirely clear, the Mayo Clinic explained. The drugs seem to make people feel less hungry and feel full faster and longer, possibly due to slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract. The end result is that people can eat less.

Obesity has tripled worldwide since 1975 and currently affects 1 billion people, including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children, according to the WHO.