phenomenon Weight loss injections It is gaining ground in Argentina with new options that began arriving just over a month ago and which will complete the offer next week. The increased diversity comes as the World Health Organization has just issued a public statement Endorse the use of these medications In the face of the continuing increase in obesity.
“While drugs alone will not solve this global health crisis, GLP-1 therapies (N. de la R.: Mimics the action of the natural hormone of the same name) It can help millions of people “To overcome obesity and reduce its harmful effects,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
more than Billion people In the world they live with obesity, a condition that has been linked to it 3.7 million deaths in 2024. It is a major risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. It can also worsen the prognosis of infectious diseases.
Following the expected arrival last October of Wegovy (popularly known as “Ozempic recharged”), a cheaper national version has been launched in recent days, called Obetide, while the imported Mounjaro is expected to be added soon, an option with the same form of administration but based on Another medicine is not yet available In the country.
Wegovy and Obetide both use semaglutide as the active ingredient. Both drugs are presentations Escalation in dose Regarding the “younger sisters”, they are those used strictly against diabetes: Ozempic and Dotide. “Strictly” is a formal term, because in practice a large proportion of these drugs are used Outside the prospectus Against obesity.
The novelty of the drug Opitide, from the Argentine Elia Laboratory, is that in its highest dose (2.4 milligrams) it has a list price – according to the Kairos website. 67 percent cheaper For your four monthly injections (one per week) Among those registered by its Danish counterpart Novo Nordisk: 234,935.50 pesos against 717,827.21 pesos. After that, each laboratory has special promotions and discounts for social work or advance payment.
Clarion He consulted Novo Nordisk if, after the release of the national option, it plans to reduce the price of its product, as it did last June with Ozempic, months after the Argentine version appeared. The laboratory responded in a statement now that “the prices of semaglutide 2.4 mg respond to Recently made modification It reflects the value of Novo Nordisk’s original innovation, backed by strong scientific evidence.
To differentiate itself from its new national competitor, the Danish laboratory added that “the price of semaglutide 2.4 mg reflects the significant increase in the price of semaglutide 2.4 mg.” Investing in clinical researchWhich highlights Novo Nordisk’s commitment to innovating and developing original biologic medicines.
Meanwhile, they confirm from Elia that, based on what happened in the competition between Ozembeke and Doted, the availability of the national option Expands public access To the drug instead of withdrawing from the market the original version. According to the numbers provided by the laboratory, “before Dotid’s departure, 35 thousand patients monthly with GLP-1 in the country, the majority between Ozempic and Saxenda (N. de la R.: Finally it is liraglutide, also from Novo). Now they are being treated 130 thousand patients. In addition, Dutide entered PAMI with a 100 percent discount for cases of overweight diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In this context, the Tirzepatidea new drug that acts on two hormone receptors (GLP-1 and GIP) instead of targeting only one, making its effect stronger for weight loss purposes. Nutritionist Monica Katz also presented Clarion Last Friday, “generates a synergistic effect: while GLP-1 Reduces appetite, improves satiety, and promotes slower stomach emptying, GIP It works directly on Adipose tissue Weight loss is generated mostly at the expense of fat mass.
Paula Harwich, a cardiologist specializing in obesity, explained to… Clarion In this case, the weight loss was within limits 24 percentWhile with semaglutide it can reach 17 percentHowever, at least so far there is one point in favor of semaglutide associated with heart benefits: this drug has been shown to lower the heart rate. 21 percent Cardiac events and associated deaths, while in the case of tirzepatide this aspect is still under study.
This battle is taking place between Novo Nordisk and Lilly laboratories, which was sparked at the recent European Congress of Cardiology, held in Madrid, when they presented studies on… Benefits of semaglutide vs. terizpatide. At the moment, Adium (which brought Mounjaro to the country through an agreement with the American laboratory) has not confirmed what happened. List price From his product in pharmacies, but from what he learned Clarion The cost of the highest dose will be higher than the price of Wegovy.
“With any of these medications, it’s very important to be treated with them,” Harwich added Medical supervision And in the context of changing the habits associated with it Diet and physical exercise. In general, when people stop taking these medications, their weight increases again, because it is a chronic disease. But there are cases in which we seek to begin reducing the dose in a controlled manner to monitor development.”