When it comes to the supply of weight loss drugs, New Zealand ranks last because of the insatiable international demand for them.
A medicine box of Ozempic, an injectable diabetes treatment, is displayed at a pharmacy in Riedisheim, eastern France, on October 23, 2023.
photograph: AFP/Sebastien Bozon
Weight loss drugs have such an impact around the world that major food companies have jumped on the lucrative bandwagon, offering special food lines targeted at people taking the drugs.
Autoinjectors like Ozempic, made popular by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, are projected to be worth $165 billion by the 2030s.
These are hugely popular and with big pharma unable to meet the demand of millions of people around the world, New Zealand is missing out.
“New Zealand tends to be at the bottom of the list when it comes to supplying pharmaceutical companies,” says Niki Besant, who writes about the boom for the Listener.
Even Secunda, a Pharmac-funded drug for people with type 2 diabetes, is limited in availability due to supply shortages, and a similar drug to Ozempic is available locally but is less effective at reducing weight and costs $500 a month.
New Zealanders would be required to keep the insurance for the rest of their lives, which is out of reach for most people.
“If you start taking it for obesity, you have to keep taking it to get results. You can’t just start taking it and then stop,” Besant says.
“This is the same as any other method you would do to lose weight, except for stomach surgery, which is more permanent, but it can still fail.”
New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Luke Bradford said as more versions of Ozempic and cheaper generics came on the market, more New Zealanders would be able to buy Ozempic.
He says it’s likely that within 10 to 20 years half of New Zealanders will be taking the drug.
“Over the next decade or so, we’re going to see significant changes in its use and patient outcomes.
“In the future, if we can improve safety and efficacy, I think we’ll see heavier people take it when they need it,” Bradford says. detailBut he points out that a significant proportion of people cannot take the medication because of side effects.
Side effects include nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and, rarely, possible gastroparesis, pancreatic cancer, and depression, but the drugs are also said to be effective in preventing obesity-related cancers and heart disease.
Besant says the impact of the weight-loss drug boom goes beyond the pharmaceutical industry: big food companies are already responding, with US takeaway chains adjusting their offerings as millions of people lose their appetite.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Besant said.
“They have a smaller appetite so they eat less, but we develop products that are maximised in protein and fibre to maintain nutritional value.”
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