Pharmalittle: Weight-loss drugs fuel boom for firms that fill syringes; employers that cover obesity drug may double in 2024

Hello, everyone, and nice to see you again. We have returned from an extended weekend respite, which came about thanks to a holiday on this side of the pond. Now, of course, we have returned to the usual routine of digging for interesting items, online calls, and deadlines. This requires a cup or three of stimulation. Our choice today is pistachio creme. Please feel free to join us with something interesting of your own. Meanwhile, here are a few tidbits to get you started. We hope you have a smashing day and conquer the world. And please do stay in touch. …

Contract drug manufacturers seeking to tap into the booming market for weight-loss drugs are investing billions of dollars to expand or build factories that fill the injection pens used to administer treatments like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Reuters tells us. Pharmaceutical services companies are jostling to secure more of the specialist work of filling the syringes used in the pens, a process known as fill-finish. The race for business among contract development and manufacturing organizations began last year. Since then, about half a dozen projects worth at least $3 billion have been announced by companies.

The number of U.S. employers that cover obesity medications, including Wegovy from Novo Nordisk that belongs to the GLP-1 class of drugs, could nearly double next year, Reuters writes, citing a survey of 502 employers by Accolade, a company that provides health care programs for employers, and research firm Savanta. In 2024, 43% of the employers polled said they could cover GLP-1 drugs in 2024 compared to 25% that cover them now. And nearly all the companies that are covering GLP-1 drugs plan to keep covering them next year, even as they are facing a spike in their health care costs because of the growing popularity of such medicines.

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