WHO to Consider Adding Obesity Drugs to Essential Medicines List

Drugs that fight obesity¹ could for the first time be included on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "essential medicines list."

The United Nations health agency² told Reuters the list is used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries.

A group of WHO advisers³ will examine new requests for drugs to be included next month. The latest list of essential medicines is set to be released⁴ in September.

The request to consider obesity drugs came from three doctors and a researcher in the United States. Their request covers the active ingredient⁵ liraglutide, which is used in the obesity drug Saxenda. The drug, made by Novo Nordisk, is set to come off patent soon. The consideration is meant to permit the availability of less costly⁶ versions⁷ of such drugs.

WHO advisers could reject the request or wait for more evidence.

But if they approve the request to include Saxenda and any future drug versions, it would mark a new method of dealing⁸ with worldwide obesity.

However, some public health experts warn against introducing such medicines to the public as a solution to a complex condition that is still not completely understood.

The WHO said the group of experts would consider the evidence for liraglutide over the coming months. The group may also look into other kinds of weight-loss treatments in the future.

The WHO found over 650 million adults worldwide are obese⁹, more than three times the rate in 1975. Another 1.3 billion people worldwide are overweight. Seventy percent of obese and overweight people live in low- and middle-income countries.

Expanding its reach

Including obesity drugs among the WHO's essential medicines could make a major difference in poorer populations. Experts say that adding drugs for the disease¹⁰ HIV to the list in 2002 helped make such drugs more widely available to patients in lower-income countries.

The doctors and the researcher who requested the consideration wrote, "At present, there are no medications included in the (list) that specifically¹¹ target weight loss for the ongoing¹² global burden of obesity."

They argue that the lack of weight-loss treatments goes against the idea of worldwide health equality. Poorer nations, they added, are seeing increased deaths from weight-related illnesses.

About the drugs

Saxenda is a once-daily injection¹³. It has been shown to help people reduce 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. It is $450 per month in the United States and $150 per month in Europe.

Another drug made by Novo Nordisk, Wegovy, is a weekly injection. It costs more than $1,300 a month in the United States. People using it have lost up to 15 percent of their weight.

At the moment, Wegovy is in short supply. Novo is mainly working toward¹⁴ Wegovy's launch¹⁵ in the United States and other wealthy markets.

Both drugs belong to a class of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists. Such drugs have been used for years to treat diabetes¹⁶. The drug affects hunger signals to the brain and slow the rate at which a person's stomach empties. As a result, people feel fuller longer.

For both Saxenda and Wegovy, there is a lack of long-term safety and effectiveness data for obesity. Studies suggest people will likely have to take the drugs for the rest of their lives to keep the weight off.

Novo Nordisk said in a statement it was not involved in the request to consider liraglutide for the WHO list. It added, "We welcome the WHO review and look forward to the readout and decision."

Words in This Story

obese – adj. fat in a way that is unhealthy

essential – adj. extremely important and necessary

ingredient – n. one of the things that are used to make a food or product

patent – n. an official document that gives a person or company the right to be the only one that makes or sells a product for a certain period of time

specifically – adv. in a definite and exact way

burden – n. someone or something that is very difficult to accept, do, or deal with

review – n. an act of carefully looking at or examining the quality or condition of something or someone

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

5 ingredient   

n.（烹饪）等的材料，原料，成分，因素

参考例句：

• The basic ingredient of this meal is rice.这一餐的主要原料是大米。
• Trust is a key ingredient.信任是关键要素。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

10 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

11 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 injection   

n.注射，注入；注射液

参考例句：

• Those drugs are given by injection as well as through the mouth.那些药品可以注射，也可以口服。
• She pressed the patient a bit too hard when she gave him an injection.她打针时手重了些。

14 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

15 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

16 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。