A World Health Organization (WHO) considers including, for the first time, medicines developed to combat obesity to its list of essential medicines, according to information from the Reuters agency.
Advisers of the entity will evaluate, in the next month, the requests for the incorporation of new medicines to the international list, whose disclosure is expected to occur in September.
The document is used by low- and middle-income countries as a guide in making public health decisions, such as the purchase of medicines.
generic
The proposal for the inclusion of medicines was made by three doctors and a researcher from the United States. The indication includes the active ingredient liraglutide, present in Saxenda, therapy for obesity from pharmaceutical Novo Nordisk. The drug will lose its patent soon, which will facilitate the manufacture of generic and cheaper versions.
Experts estimate that the green light could pave the way for the inclusion of more modern drugs, such as Wegovy, a version of Ozempic indicated for obesity.
Obesity and overweight are defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that presents a risk to health. It is estimated that over 650 million adults worldwide are obese and another 1.3 billion are overweight. Seven out of ten people in this group (70%) live in low- and middle-income countries. (With information from Reuters agency)
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