{"id":402097,"date":"2025-09-06T07:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T07:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/402097\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T07:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T07:45:13","slug":"who-adds-weight-loss-diabetes-drugs-to-essential-medicines-list-world-health-organization-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/402097\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO adds weight-loss, diabetes drugs to essential medicines list | World Health Organization News"},"content":{"rendered":"

UN agency urges production of affordable generics for GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity and diabetes in developing countries.<\/p>\n

Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization (WHO) has added a new set of drugs for obesity and diabetes to its essential medicines list, alongside treatments for cancer and cystic fibrosis.<\/p>\n

Cheap generic versions of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs should also be made available for people in developing countries, the United Nations agency said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

The list, consisting of 523 medicines for adults and 374 for children, is a catalogue of the drugs the WHO believes should be available in all functioning health systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new editions of essential medicines lists mark a significant step toward expanding access to new medicines with proven clinical benefits and with high potential for global public health impact,\u201d said Yukiko Nakatani, WHO\u2019s assistant director-general for Health Systems, Access and Data.<\/p>\n

The expert committee added the active ingredients in Novo Nordisk\u2019s Ozempic and Eli Lilly\u2019s Mounjaro to the list, to treat type 2 diabetes in conjunction with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or obesity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cToday WHO is releasing the latest editions of the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines for Children.<\/p>\n

These lists are among WHO\u2019s most important products, used in over 150 countries to shape public sector procurement, the supply of medicines, health\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The medicines were initially developed for diabetes, and have become wildly popular as weight-loss drugs, too, under different brand names. But the WHO stopped short of adding them to treat obesity alone, as it also did in 2023.<\/p>\n

The committee said this decision provided clear guidance on which patients would most benefit from the therapies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh prices of medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide are limiting access to these medicines,\u201d the WHO statement added, saying that encouraging generic drugmakers to produce the product would also help when patents begin to expire on the drugs next year.<\/p>\n

Other additions<\/p>\n

According to the WHO, more than 800 million people around the world were living with diabetes in 2022, while more than one billion people are affected by obesity.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the organisation announced plans to recommend the use of medications for obesity, which is separate from their inclusion on the essential medicines list.<\/p>\n

WHO data shows that, in 2021, more than 3.7 million people died from conditions linked to being overweight or obese \u2013 a number that exceeds the combined deaths from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.<\/p>\n

The list also includes Vertex Pharmaceuticals\u2019 combination therapy for cystic fibrosis, Trikafta or Kaftrio. Activists have criticised its high price and lack of accessibility for years.<\/p>\n

WHO\u2019s list also includes Merck\u2019s top-selling cancer immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, for the treatment of cervical cancers, colorectal cancers, and non-small cell lung cancers that have spread, or metastasised. The agency also recommended strategies to increase access to this drug.<\/p>\n

The WHO further added rapid-acting insulin analogues, also made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, among others, to the list for treating type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.<\/p>\n