Pharma Companies Turn to New Market For Weight-Loss Drugs: Overweight Kids

At least two pharmaceutical companies are looking to test how effective their profitable weight-loss drugs are for a new demographic: children as young as six.

Novo Nordisk last month began testing the effectiveness of Saxenda, an older and milder version of its extremely popular Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, on children as young as six who've been diagnosed as obese.

And Eli Lilly & Co. is planning to test its own diabetes drug Mounjaro for patients with obesity who are aged six and up, a source familiar with the company's plans told Bloomberg. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker is recruiting patients between six and 11 years old for a study testing the safety of tirzepatide — the medical name for Mounjaro — in Oklahoma and Texas.

At least one study has found Mounjaro to be "superior" to Novo's offerings. It is expected to be approved for weight loss in the U.S. by the end of this year.

“We are certainly committed to innovation in this space that’s going to address all segments of the population that’s affected,” Nadia Ahmad, Eli Lilly’s associate vice president of medical development for obesity, told Bloomberg.

Currently, none of the GLP-1 class of drugs — which include weekly weight-loss injections and other treatments such as Pfizer's weight-loss pill — are approved for use on patients younger than 12. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have approved the use of these treatments only for minors aged 12 and older.

As interest in these drugs has grown, pharmaceutical companies and contractors hired to support drug production have raked in the profits.

"The chronic weight management market is undergoing an inflection,” Goldman analysts wrote in a note to investors.

Eli Lilly and Novo together are expected to control about 80% of the market for GLP-1 drugs by 2030, according to Bloomberg, citing a report from Goldman Sachs analysts earlier this month.

The market for these anti-obesity drugs could reach $100 million by the end of the decade, according to Goldman analysts, and the scope of the market could expand well beyond the investment bank's initial projections.

That's because Goldman's estimates don't account for sales to children or people with diabetes who may be eligible for or interested in weight loss medications, according to Bloomberg. The investment bank's projections consider only the 15 million adults in the U.S. who are expected to receive anti-obesity medication for chronic weight loss management in 2030.

If approved, these drugs could be revolutionary for the nearly 20% of kids six years or older who have obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, there is little data signaling the extent of demand among these much younger individuals, according to Bloomberg.

While some medical professionals and parents are leery of accepting drugs that aren't widely tested, others have found success in getting volunteers for medical trials. Justin Ryder, a researcher who worked with Novo on a study of the weight loss drug Saxenda for young children, found that his trial filled up surprisingly quickly.

“A lot of people are desperate and they really need the help,” Ryder, a pediatric obesity specialist at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, told Bloomberg. “And that's what some of these medications offer.”