- A new report finds 2 out of 3 people on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic stop within a year.
- Experts point out the cost of these drugs may mean people feel unable to stay on them for more than year.
- Additionally, some people may feel the drugs are also no longer working if they plateau at a new body weight.
A new pharmacy analysis found few people taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy stay on these medications after a year.
In a report from Reuters, an analysis by Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) found that only 32% of people taking GLP-1 drugs which include Ozempic and Wegovy were still taking the medication a year later.
GLP-1 drugs have become incredibly popular in recent months as people realized these drugs, originally designed to help treat people with diabetes, can help with weight loss.
In clinical trials, Wegovy was shown to reduce body weight in people with BMIs of 27 or more by 15 % over 68 weeks.
So why would so many people quit a drug that is allegedly so effective?
The answer, it turns out, could be a variety of reasons.
“There is never one answer. It is multiple things. Some of it may have to do with access and expense, and another may be expectation,” said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, a bariatric surgeon at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital.
