Sep 22, 2023
Obesity Drug Market Set to Hit $100 Billion by 2035, BMO Says
Bloomberg News
,![LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 17: In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Ozempic was originally approved by the FDA to treat people with Type 2 diabetes- who risk serious health consequences without medication. In recent months, there has been a spike in demand for Ozempic, or semaglutide, due to its weight loss benefits, which has led to shortages. Some doctors prescribe Ozempic off-label to treat obesity. (Photo illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images), Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 17: In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Ozempic was originally approved by the FDA to treat people with Type 2 diabetes- who risk serious health consequences without medication. In recent months, there has been a spike in demand for Ozempic, or semaglutide, due to its weight loss benefits, which has led to shortages. Some doctors prescribe Ozempic off-label to treat obesity. (Photo illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images)](/polopoly_fs/1.1975229.1695411839!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/los-angeles-california-april-17-in-this-photo-illustration-boxes-of-the-diabetes-drug-ozempic-rest-on-a-pharmacy-counter-on-april-17-2023-in-los-angeles-california-ozempic-was-originally-approved-by-the-fda-to-treat-people-with-type-2-diabetes-who-risk-serious-health-consequences-without-medication-in-recent-months-there-has-been-a-spike-in-demand-for-ozempic-or-semaglutide-due-to-its-weight-loss-benefits-which-has-led-to-shortages-some-doctors-prescribe-ozempic-off-label-to-treat-obesity-photo-illustration-by-mario-tama-getty-images.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- The global market for novel weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic and Wegovy is poised to reach $100 billion by 2035 as patients start to understand the efficacy of the medications.
That’s according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman, who, in a note to clients late Thursday, also said revenue for the medications could reach as high as $70 billion in the US alone.
Wall Street’s appetite for all things weight-loss related has been on the rise after a study of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy showed the medication reduced the risks of heart attacks and strokes. The study results sent shares of drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. soaring, and it remains the best-performing pharmaceutical stock so far this year in the S&P 500.
Read More: Weight-Loss Stocks Soar After Drug Study Shows Heart Benefit
Seigerman sees Lilly as most poised to dominate the US market into the 2030s. He said Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) — already approved for diabetes — will anchor weight-loss treatments into the late 2030s if the drug gets approval for obesity by the end of the year.
“We see change coming in the US payor and reimbursement environment and data-driven, broad support across medicine, politics, regulation, and culture for broad access to obesity therapeutics,” Seigerman wrote.
Morgan Stanley analysts projected in early August that the global obesity market will reach $77 billion in 2030, an increase from the previously estimated $54 billion.
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