At present, there is still a certain degree of discrimination against overweight people, especially obese patients, in society. This leads them to believe that obesity is their own fault and personal responsibility, and they must rely entirely on self adjustment of diet and exercise to manage their weight. In fact, such cognition and attitude hinder this group from timely obtaining professional help and medical intervention. "Recently, at the" Third China Obesity Conference, "Ms. Declan, President and General Manager of Lilly China, said in an interview.
Dehran pointed out that obesity is not a personal mistake, but a chronic and progressive disease. Obese patients should receive attention and care from the whole society, and the medical and health system should provide more systematic and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment services for them.
It is reported that obesity will lead to an increase in the probability of more than 200 complications, including type 2 diabetes, three high blood pressure (hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), etc. According to public data, about 2.8 million adults worldwide die of overweight or obesity every year, bringing a heavy burden to the whole society.
In China, the proportion of overweight or obese adults exceeds 50%. Therefore, both internationally and in China, overweight and obesity are prominent public health issues. However, they have not received sufficient attention yet, and people generally do not consider obesity as a serious chronic disease.
Enhance awareness of obesity and improve the healthcare system
Obesity not only poses health risks to individuals, but also imposes a heavy burden on the national economy and healthcare system due to its high medical costs.
A study predicts that by 2030, the overweight and obesity rate among adults in China will reach 70.5%. The medical expenses attributed to overweight and obesity may be 418 billion yuan, accounting for about 21.5% of the total national medical expenses. In the future, the overweight and obesity rate among urban and rural residents in China and the economic burden it causes will continue to rise.
However, the current prevention and control of obesity still seems to face multiple problems.
In Dechlan's view, countries are facing common challenges, with the first being a lack of awareness about obesity. People have not yet realized that obesity and overweight are chronic and treatable diseases, and the complications caused by obesity can be very serious, even life-threatening.
At present, the screening, diagnosis, treatment, insurance, and long-term care levels for obesity are lower than those for other chronic diseases, and insufficient awareness is the primary reason behind it. Many overweight or obese patients believe that weight management is purely their personal responsibility and should be addressed on their own. However, the treatment of obesity may not be sufficient solely through dietary and exercise interventions, and this group of people has the right to receive medication assistance, "said Dechlan.
On the other hand, the challenge lies in the healthcare system. Dehran pointed out that countries need to improve their prevention and treatment capabilities for overweight and obesity. From screening, diagnosis, treatment to prognosis, more comprehensive clinical pathways, diagnosis and treatment standards, and patient management systems need to be established. Currently, there is still a significant gap in the number of weight management clinics or departments, as well as professional medical staff in many countries.
It is reported that in response to these issues, Lilly is collaborating with multiple parties, such as promoting cooperation between the World Obesity Alliance and relevant professional physician associations, to provide weight management, obesity diagnosis and treatment related professional knowledge and skills training and education for medical staff. At the same time, Lilly is also helping multiple countries, including China, to train more professional medical staff. It is expected that by 2024, it will combine online and offline comprehensive methods to help train about 500 professional weight management doctors in China.
At the same time, Lilly is also committed to helping eliminate people's misconceptions about obesity in China, advocating the establishment of a complete diagnosis and treatment system, promoting prevention screening, medication, surgery, long-term care, and medical insurance policies, and developing into a new paradigm.
These are of great significance for achieving the goals of the 'Healthy China 2030' strategic plan, and we are pleased to see that the Chinese government has fully recognized the threat that obesity poses to people's health, and is increasingly focusing on weight management. This year, the three-year implementation plan for the 'Weight Management Year' activity has been officially announced, "Dehran told reporters.
It is reported that on June 26, 2024, the National Health Commission and 16 other departments jointly formulated and released the Implementation Plan for the "Weight Management Year" activity, proposing that starting from 2024, efforts will be made to establish a supportive environment for weight management in about three years, significantly improve the awareness and skills of weight management among the whole population, popularize healthy lifestyles, and gradually form a good situation of weight management that benefits everyone. The abnormal weight situation of some people will be improved.
Provide patients with multiple options
In addition to the challenges mentioned above, Dehran believes that the prevention and treatment of obesity requires a multi pronged approach. In addition to dietary control and exercise, drug therapy is also an important way for some patients. Moreover, during the treatment phase, patients have the right to be informed and have access to multiple treatment options.
For decades, controlling diet and exercise have been people's first choice, but there have been cases where multiple weight loss attempts have not been effective. Current research suggests that the body may cope with calorie deficient diets by increasing hunger and reducing satiety, making weight loss more difficult.
Dehran told reporters that in different countries, obesity and overweight can lead to an increase in the probability of multiple concurrent diseases. The situation in China is already quite severe, with over 500 million people being overweight or even obese, and there is a huge unmet medical need. Moreover, the incidence of overweight and obesity in China is still further increasing. From a market perspective, the market potential for weight management drugs is enormous.
Based on the experience of the US market, the use of drugs such as tilpotide can help successfully manage weight and allow users to enter a healthy 'virtuous cycle'. We hope that overweight and obese patients in China can also enter the same 'virtuous cycle' as soon as possible, "said Dechlan.
It is understood that the currently approved glucagon drugs for reducing blood sugar and weight have broad market prospects and high clinical demand.
The global GLP-1 drug market continues to expand, and according to Frost&Sullivan's forecast, the global GLP-1 drug market is expected to reach $24.6 billion by 2024. From the perspective of segmented fields, long-acting GLP-1 has a long half-life and can usually be injected once a week. In the future, the market size of this segmented field will rapidly expand, driving the continuous expansion of the GLP-1 drug industry. It is expected that the global GLP-1 drug market will grow to 28.3 billion US dollars by 2025 and 40.7 billion US dollars by 2030.
Eli Lilly's Tilpotide is an innovative once a week enteropancreatin drug. According to the review, on November 8, 2023, the indication for obesity with Tilpotide was approved by the FDA, becoming the world's first dual target agonist (GIP/GLP-1) drug for the treatment of obesity; On July 19, 2024, the indications for long-term weight management of tilpotide were approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and it is suitable for long-term weight management of adults with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 28 kg/m2 (obesity) or ≥ 24 kg/m2 (overweight) and at least one weight related complication (such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, obstructive sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, etc.) on the basis of controlling diet and increasing exercise. This also represents the first innovative drug approved by Lilly in the field of obesity treatment in China.
It is worth noting that the sales of Tilpotide have grown rapidly in 2023, with global sales reaching 5.163 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 968.94%. In the second quarter of 2024, Lilly's sales increased by 36% year-on-year, with a significant contribution from Tilpotide.
Tilpotide has enormous potential and is currently undergoing more research and development projects to enable its use in the treatment of more endocrine related diseases. In addition, its new indications may include obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, fatty liver, and other metabolic diseases. We believe that Tilpotide will be a milestone innovative drug in the treatment and management of overweight and obesity, which is safer and more convenient for patients, "said De Helan.
But at the same time, it should be noted that as drugs provide new options for overweight and obese populations, rational drug use has become increasingly important.
Dehelan told reporters that drugs such as tilpotide are prescription drugs that require strict adherence to drug instructions and medical advice, and must be used under the guidance of a doctor. At the same time, this drug cannot be used for people under 18 years old, and cannot be used solely for beauty or slimming purposes. The clinical use of such drugs should be taken very seriously and seriously.
In addition, although the indications for the use of tilpotide in weight management have been approved, in Dechlan's view, more scientific research is still needed to further enhance understanding of obesity, "because it is related to more than 200 concurrent diseases, including tumors, which can be called a medical 'disaster'. If obesity can be effectively controlled, it can also effectively control a large number of other diseases
In order to address the impact of obesity on individuals and society, we must consider it as a chronic disease and ensure that affected patients receive care fairly like other long-term illnesses. Systematic and comprehensive treatment can reduce the risk of complications, improve patients' quality of life, and also alleviate the social and economic burden of obesity. We believe that weight management will remain a very important cause in this century, "said Dechlan.