How GLP-1S, Wegven, Zepbound turns the economy to form

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Wonder remedies, obese treatments and thin bumps. Name what you want, in the past few decades, only a few drugs have a transformative effect on Wall Street and the waist as GLP-1.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are known among the brand names Wegovy and Zepbound. A class of medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity by imitation of hormones to imitate the appetite of a person and regulate blood sugar.

Since Wegovy received the US approval for the treatment of obesity in 2021 and in 2023 for the first time Novo Nordisk And Eli Lilly.

Obesity is a significant risk factor in many of the main causes of death. Since new applications – and competitors – come to light for the medication, Wall Street sets up in the burgeoning industry, and it is estimated that more than 100 billion US dollars could be worth it by 2030.

Sophie Dix, Head of Medical Affairs at MedExpress, said that the potential new applications of the medication are “unexpectedly and promising”, with new signs of psoriasis, asthma, chronic kidney diseases, fatty liver diseases, obstructive sleep apnea, polycyzic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), obesity – related cancer, Alzhisistics -Vary disease.

Experts say that the far -reaching application could open up potentially comprehensive effects for both health results and the economy.

Trigger economic growth

The current costs for the medication are considerable, and the US list prices for a month for a month from Lily’s Zepbound or Novos Wegovy between $ 1,079.77 and USD 1,349.02. Estimates from the Jama Health Forum suggest that the US Medicare cover of GLP-1S would increase net expenses as part of the retire health program in the next 10 years alone by $ 47.7 billion.

But the expected health and economic results are also considerable. Poor health caused by obesity and obesity in connection with diseases, the health systems and general productivity, including lost working hours, early deaths and informal care.

Goldman Sachs estimates that GLP-1 could increase the US gross domestic product (GDP) by increased productivity and health savings by 0.4%, provided that 30 million users have a basic representative of the basis for the healthcare system, as can be seen from a report 2024. An estimated 2% of the US-growing-up-ups 5 million people’s people after a report by non-profit Fair Health GLP-1S according to a report by non-profit health.

“Poor health leads to considerable economic costs that would decrease if the health results improved,” wrote the analysts of Goldman Sachs in the report. “Academic studies find that overweight people both work less likely … and less productive if they do this.”

In Denmark, the market capitalization of Wegovy-Maker Novo Nordisk put the entire GDP of its home country in the shade in 2024, and the country’s large and growing weight loss medicine industry continues to make an excessive contribution to the economy.

Therefore, the perceived potential of GLP-1-Sowohl in the treatment of obesity as well as in the treatment of diabetes and other health states-a new era of drug innovation is triggered, whereby Dix describes the possible effects for future drug development as well as for the creation of new jobs as “profound”.

Pharma giants including AstrazenecaPresent PfizerPresent Roche And Zealand Pharma is already developing treatments from competitive fats, while many more extends into research with metabolic and cardiometabolic diseases and development with obesity as an entry point.

“It is also important to consider that the first class is best. Follow-up medication may be more, more selective and with combination therapies. As a result.

Shifting of food habits

The comprehensive introduction of medication for weight reduction also has a significant impact on consumer expenditure patterns, especially in view of the higher tendency to discretionary expenses in many wealthier, self -financed users.

“These consumers who are most likely to take the medication are also those who are responsible for a lot of consumption,” said Aljoscha Janssen, assistant professor of economics at Singapore Management University, by video call.

It is not surprising that the most visible effects of today’s effects are on the food and beverage industry. A study by Cornell University 2024 showed that households with at least one GLP-1 user lowered their food expenditure by 5.3% within six months of adoption, whereby this rate rose to 8.2% in households with higher incomes.

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Those who stayed in the medication for six to 12 months continued to reduce their expenses in less dramatic rates, according to the updated findings in August 2025. In the meantime, those who set the medication returned to the expenditure for the expenditure before application and in some cases rose above them.

Processed snack foods such as chips, cookies and baked goods watched the largest spending cuts, although a reduction was also found in many categories of basic foods. Only modest increases were recorded in healthier objects such as yogurt and fresh fruit.

“The pattern is less about switching to ‘better’ foods and simply buying less food,” Jura Liaukonyte, professor for marketing and applied economy at Cornell University and one of the reports of the report, told CNBC via e -mail.

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Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk

This could have a significant impact on fast -moving consumer goods companies (FMCG) and food manufacturers in a broader sense. Indeed, some companies like Nestle And Danone I have already started to start new lines to reproduce their product base and move for shift trends. This includes high protein meals, smaller portion sizes and foods that aim to promote muscle retention.

“Manufacturers and retailers have very specific customers who buy very specific products,” said Janssen. As a rule, this is well to build brand loyalty, he noticed. “But if you have something that changes the behavior of consumers, this becomes quite risky.”

Alcohol, clothing, restaurants and travel

The effects of drugs could also go far beyond food. GLP-1S control the appetite by aiming at the brain’s reward and in particular the release of dopamine to the part of the brain, which is associated with motivation, pleasure and reward. Early studies suggest applications for the medicine in the treatment of dependencies.

“This modulation of the brain reward system goes beyond food, with early evidence of advantages in reducing alcohol abuse, drug addiction and even gambling,” said Dix.

This has taken care of the producers of leisure stimulants such as alcohol and tobacco. In turn, the study by Cornell did not find any “meaningful” change in alcohol purchases in GLP-1 users, which reflects other literature that indicates a possible reduction in the intensity of the drinking pisodes and not to the frequency.

Spirits Giant and Johnnie Walker-Maker Diageo Said at the beginning of this month that it “kept an eye on GLP-1”, but indicated that the previous effects were “not significant”.

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Elsewhere, the effects on other sectors appear far -reaching. Analysts have set up shifts in the retail expenditure of higher activated body sales to reduced oversized excessive demand and fuel savings for airlines of lighter passenger loads. Fitness studios and personal trainers were also able to see an increase in demand, while holiday resorts use new opportunities to meet more active and health -oriented visitors.

Immediately, the restaurants from fast food chains to upper restaurants with a new consumer landscape and potentially low future demand.

“In the short term, yes, these medication reduces expenses in fast food and quick service restaurants. At the national level, this already leads to billions of dollars in reduced sales,” said Liaowkonyte.

“But the long-term picture is far less certain. The ultimate influence depends heavily on whether people consistently and how long stays on the medication-and we don’t know that yet.”

A two -stage society

With all the possible economic results of GLP-1S, however, questions about the social effects of a medicine with a physical marker that visible.

While treatment was quickly introduced in just a few years, accessibility remains limited in the industrialized countries, with many national health systems restricting the covered access to patients with extreme obesity and associated health conditions. In the meantime, Take -up has risen from paid customers who are ready and capable of pretending to be in person for the drug.

“We know that there are huge social determinants of health and that obesity is higher in areas with lower incomes,” said Dix, who praised the introduction of drugs by the public health authorities, but she complained that she often “quiet” rollout.

“This creates the risk of a two -stage society in which only those who can afford can access these life -changing medication.”

The drug manufacturers have already said goodbye to the reduction in prices to a certain extent, whereby this trend is to be continued under political changes, including President Donald Trump’s US Prize Ordinance, and an increased market competition. In the event of lengthy consumption of drugs that are supposed to reject public and personal wallets, analysts warn that political decision -makers have to annoy themselves to worsen socio -economic divisions.

“If rich people get a medicine that makes them thin, then the already obvious inequality in relation to the weight – which correlates to a large extent with income and education,” said Janssen.

“This is something that would certainly have a negative impact on the broader society,” he added.