New research indicates that weight-loss medications based on semaglutide (such as Wegovy and Ozempic) could be mass-produced for as little as $3 (approximately £2.35) per month for the injectable form. Currently, these drugs cost around $200 monthly in the United States and £120 monthly in the United Kingdom. The study, based on shipment records of key ingredients from 2024-2025, employs a methodology previously used to accurately predict prices of generic medicines for HIV, hepatitis C, and certain cancer drugs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated semaglutide as an essential medicine in September 2023, but global health leaders warned at the time that high prices were limiting access. One of the study's authors, Dr. Andrew Hill from the University of Liverpool's pharmacology department, stated: "These low prices open the door to worldwide access to an essential medicine."
The researchers also found that core patents on semaglutide are set to expire in 10 countries this year, including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, and Canada from March 21, paving the way for generic competition. An additional 150 countries—including most of Africa—have not filed patents, meaning these 160 nations are home to 69% of people with type 2 diabetes and 84% of those living with obesity.
Newer formulations, taken as pills rather than injections, could be manufactured for about $16 per month. Dr. Nomathemba Chandiwana, chief scientific officer at South Africa's Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and an obesity specialist not involved in the study, described the findings as "very significant for South Africa and many African countries and low- and middle-income countries [LMICs] at large, where cost has been one of the main barriers to access."
The researchers cautioned that cheaper treatments would not address the structural drivers of obesity, "including food insecurity, poverty, urbanisation and commercial food environments," and emphasized that coordinated policies and procurement planning would be necessary to realize the benefits. Semaglutide was first approved by U.S. regulators in 2017, with patents in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the United States not expiring for another five years.
Source: www.theguardian.com