Today's episode is the second A series about the weight loss drug revolution of the past two years.
On Tuesday, we spoke with endocrinologist Beverly Chan about the science of glucagon, including peptide-1 receptor agonists (also known as GLP1 and also known as Ozempic, Wegovy, Moujargo, and Zepbound). Even if you haven't listened to the show yet, I think you can enjoy it without any worries as long as it's within the scope of this episode. But if you want to learn more about how these drugs work, their effects on insulin, glucose, the brain's reward centers, or the questions they raise about obesity and the nature of willpower and free will, check out that column. We recommend that you line up at show. Today in Part 2, we have two guests. Zach Reitano is his CEO and co-founder of telemedicine platform Ro. There are several reasons why he came here. He has a bird's eye view of the GLP1 market, demand growth, supply chain, pricing economics, and insurance. He has also written several revelatory essays, incorporating research findings from think tanks, medical experts, and investment banks, that explore these drugs and their potential for populations and economies. It helped shape my understanding of certain influences. Our second guest is Dr. Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist who spent many years as a pediatrician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. As you can hear, he's not very optimistic about the potential of these drugs to revolutionize obesity treatment in America.
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In the following excerpt, Derek talks about the impact of the weight loss drug revolution in the United States.
Derek Thompson: Today's episode is the second in a series about the weight loss drug revolution of the past few years. On Tuesday, we spoke with endocrinologist Beverly Chan about the science behind glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, also known as GLP-1 (also commonly referred to as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound). Ta. Even if you've never heard the show, I think you can safely enjoy it within the scope of this episode. But if you want to learn more about how these drugs work, the questions they raise about insulin and glucose, their effects on the brain's reward centers, or the nature of obesity and willpower, tune in to that show. is highly recommended.
Today in Part 2, we welcome two guests. First, Zach Reitano is his CEO and co-founder of telemedicine platform Ro. There are several reasons why he is here. First, he takes a bird's-eye view of his GLP-1 market, demand growth, supply chain, pricing economics, and insurance. He has also written several revelatory essays that incorporate research from think tanks, medical experts, and investment banks, and these essays provide insight into these drugs and their potential impact on the population and economy. It really helped shape my understanding of influence.
Our second guest is Robert Lustig. Dr. Lustig is an endocrinologist who worked for many years as a pediatrician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. And as you can hear, he's going to provide a kind of rebuttal to my optimism. He's not too sure whether these drugs will revolutionize obesity treatment in the United States, and even though I'm optimistic they will, the only way to be optimistic is to be an educated optimist. That's my opinion. Otherwise I'm just willfully ignorant. So we will hear Dr. Lustig's argument for the greatest possible impact of GLP-1 drugs, while remaining confident that they play a major role in obese people.
So first, in this episode, I'd like to talk a little bit about the market size of these drugs to give some perspective on the GLP-1 market. Morgan Stanley estimates that about 5 million people in the United States are taking GLP-1 drugs (weight loss drugs). Four million people take it for type 2 diabetes, and about one million take it for weight loss. Now, some may say that's not huge, but if the patient decides that it's worth continuing to use these drugs, and I mean, let's be clear, if the patient decides that it's worth continuing to use these drugs. There's one way to think about how big this market will be.
Forty years ago, in the 1980s, about 10% of people diagnosed with high blood pressure were taking high blood pressure medication. But with advances in ACE inhibitors and other drugs, that number has skyrocketed over the past half-century. Tens of millions of Americans are currently taking blood pressure medications, which have dramatically contributed to reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease.
If GLP-1 follows a similar trajectory, the number of Americans taking these drugs could easily triple over the next decade. And the impact on health is one thing. Reducing obesity would clearly reduce many chronic diseases and pain. But what about other industries? How does it affect food?
Morgan Stanley research and survey data show that patients taking GLP-1 drugs reduce their calorie intake by 20 to 30 percent, but this is less than a 20 percent reduction across all food categories. . Consumption of candy, sugary drinks, and cookies is reduced by 60 percent in patients taking GLP-1. Alcohol consumption is drastically reduced.
So if you work in a processed food and beverage, restaurant, or grocery store and believe that a high percentage of your customers are likely to continue using these drugs for the next 10 years, these drugs are probably It will continue to be used. , is essentially an anti-snacking drug, but what changes does that bring to your menu, supply chain, and acquisition strategy?
Currently, we cannot answer all the implications of GLP-1. The ripples are too wide. But these are the kinds of questions I'm interested in. And since I like to have my optimism checked from time to time, these are the kinds of predictions I look forward to being interrogated by Dr. Lustig. I'm Derek Thompson.this is easy to understand english.
This excerpt has been edited for clarity.Listen to the rest of the episode here and follow easy to understand english feed On Spotify.
Host: Derek Thompson
Guest: Zack Reitano & Robert Lustig
Producer: Devon Baroldi
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