What Is Zepbound, Ozempic’s Newest Competitor?
While Zepbound, the new drug from Eli Lilly, doesn’t have the name recognition of Ozempic, it still represents a changing landscape in weight loss management, one pharmaceutical companies are working to cash in on. Even with the popularity of new weight loss drugs like Ozempic, consumers say high costs and major shortages cause roadblocks to receiving care. But pharmaceutical brands say they have the answer: even more drugs.
On Nov. 8, the Food and Drug Administration approved Zepbound, making the injectable drug available as a treatment for weight loss. Also known as tirzepatide, the drug was already available as the brand-name Mounjaro, but only had FDA approval for diabetes treatment. Under its new name, Zepbound is a direct competitor of Wegovy, the weight loss drug created by Novo Nordisk.
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Similar to other popular weight loss drugs, including Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, Zepbound mimics the GLP-1 hormone, a hormone in the stomach that regulates sugar levels and appetite. However, unlike semaglutide, Zepbound is a dual agonist — meaning it also mimics the body’s GIP hormone (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide), another naturally occurring intestinal hormone that helps with insulin production. Zepbound is injected under the skin once a week, with dosages slowly increased over 20 weeks until patients reach their target dose. According to the FDA, the maximum dosage of Zepbound is 15 mg per week.
While Zepbound is making its debut in an already crowded market, it has a slight advantage in terms of use. According to the FDA, trial participants saw an average weight loss of 18 percent. (Wegovy trial patients lost an average 15 percent of their body weight, CNBC reports.) But Zepbound still includes many common side effects from GLP-1 medications, like “nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, burping, hair loss and gastroesophageal reflux disease,” according to the FDA.
Zepbound’s approval comes at a time of rapid growth for chronic weight loss drugs. When Ozemipc was first approved in 2017, the drug was intended solely for diabetics. But after users also reported faster weight loss, the drug and others like it quickly became a desirable option online for weight management. By 2020, Ozempic had a reputation online as a “miracle drug.” Parent company Novo Nordisk quickly released Wegovy, a drug with the same active ingredients as Ozempic, but approved by the FDA specifically for weight loss.
But the new approval wasn’t enough to curb the rising demand for the drugs. As of Sept. 2023, Ozempic and Wegovy are both under a national shortage. The lack of medication hasn’t just driven desire for the drugs — it has pushed extremely desperate patients to seek out illegal or compounded versions. In November, Novo Nordisk announced it had filed at least 12 legal complaints against companies they claimed sold drugs with FDA-banned chemicals, misleading branding, and potentially injurious components. But the warnings haven’t stopped patients from seeking out telehealth companies or compounding — leading to increased work from pharmaceutical companies to address the national shortage. The FDA approved Zepbound under the organization’s Fast Track program, which expedites the review and approval of drugs to treat serious conditions or a large “unmet” medical need. While Zepbound’s arrival could relieve some pressure from patients still waiting for Ozempic scripts, its equally high price tag (upwards of $1,000 each month) means eager clients might still take more dangerous routes to obtain their medication.
“Obesity and overweight are serious conditions that can be associated with some of the leading causes of death such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes,” FDA Diabetes Division Director Dr. John Sharretts said in a statement. “In light of increasing rates of both obesity and overweight in the United States, today’s approval addresses an unmet medical need.”
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