New data illustrating the health benefits of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy puts insurers in the increasingly uncomfortable position of justifying their refusal to pay for the new class of injectable weight-loss treatments known as GLP1 drugs.
Shares of Novo Nordisk and its rival Eli Lilly & Co. rose on the news, which increased investor confidence that insurers will eventually be forced to cover these drugs for a wider range of people.
As a society, we seem stuck in an old narrative: That Wegovy and its rivals are merely "lifestyle products” that offer a cosmetic, but not societal benefit. Today’s data underscores the need to update that story.