Anti-obesity drugs could be included for the first time on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "list of essential medicines" used to guide procurement decisions by governments in low- and middle-income countries, the United Nations (UN) agency confirmed to Reuters. .
A panel of World Health Organization advisers will consider the new drug requirements to be included next month, and an updated list of essential medicines is due to be published in September.
The request to consider the addition of anti-obesity drugs was submitted by three doctors and a researcher from the United States of America. It mentions liraglutide, an ingredient in the soon-to-be-patented obesity drug Saxenda manufactured by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. This initiative would enable the production of generic versions, reports N1 BIH.
The Council may reject the request or wait for additional evidence. According to Reuters, the decision of the WHO to include Saxenda in the list would mean a new approach of this health agency to the problem of global obesity.
It could also pave the way for a new, more effective treatment from Novo Nordisk called Wegovy that could be recommended to low- and middle-income countries in the future.
However, some public health experts caution against the widespread introduction of such drugs as solutions to a complex condition that is still not fully understood.
"Obesity is an increasingly important health problem in many countries. Medicines to treat obesity are only one aspect of treatment, of course, and prevention is also key," said a WHO spokesperson.
The WHO said an expert panel would review the evidence for liraglutide in the coming months. It may also require wider evaluation of other types of weight loss treatments in the future.
According to the agency, over 650 million adults worldwide are obese, more than triple the number in 1975, and approximately 1,3 billion more are overweight. The majority, 70% of them, live in low- and middle-income countries.
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