Amid high rates of U.S. obesity, a bipartisan bill has been reintroduced in the Senate and House of Representatives with backing from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim.
Pictured: The U.S. Capitol Building/iStock, Evgeniia Ozerkina
To combat the growing obesity crisis in the U.S., four lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, which would expand Medicare coverage to include weight management medications.
The bipartisan and bicameral legislative effort is being led by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE), as well as Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA). Other lawmakers have also thrown in their support, including Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
“By tackling obesity head on, we can better prevent numerous additional diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, helping lengthen Americans’ health spans while also saving taxpayer and Medicare dollars over the long run,” Wenstrup said in a statement.
First introduced in 2013, the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) seeks Medicare coverage of prescription drugs used to treat obesity or which are involved in weight loss management programs. The bill has since been reintroduced several times in the last 10 years and has seen various versions. In 2017, a TROA resubmission also asked Medicare to cover intensive behavioral therapy for obesity as administered by other providers aside from primary care physicians and practitioners.
The reintroduction of TROA Thursday was backed by several medical organizations and pharma companies, including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim—all of which either have FDA-approved weight-loss drugs in the market or are ushering promising molecules through clinical development.
Novo owns Wegovy (semaglutide), a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in 2017 as an adjunct intervention for weight management alongside dietary and lifestyle adjustments. In 2022, the drug earned more than $900 million in sales, up nearly 350% from the year prior. Novo also owns first-generation obesity drug Saxenda (liraglutide), which in 2022 hit nearly $1.6 billion in revenue.
Lilly markets Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a dual antagonist of GIP and GLP-1 authorized to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes. The company is currently assessing Mounjaro as a weight-loss medication and in April 2023 reported that the drug met its co-primary and all secondary endpoints in the Phase III SURMOUNT-2 study.
Patients treated with 10-mg tirzepatide saw a 13.4% drop in body weight, while a 15-mg dose elicited a 15.5% average reduction in body weight.
Mounjaro also scored a win with the Phase III SURMOUNT-1 study in 2022, setting it up for the FDA’s Fast Track designation. Approval could come as early as this year.
Boehringer Ingelheim is also working on a weight-loss contender in survodutide, which achieved strong weight reduction in a Phase II study presented last month at the 2023 American Diabetes Association’s 83rd Scientific Sessions.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
