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\n Mike Doustdar, President and CEO of Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk, addressing the National Press Club on Monday.
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\n News<\/p>\n
\n Ozempic manufacturer\u00a0Novo Nordisk says children with obesity could benefit from the drugs, but the college warns\u00a0holistic care will be replaced and health budgets blown.
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\n Mike Doustdar, President and CEO of Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk, addressing the National Press Club on Monday.
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newsGP weekly poll
\n Ozempic\u2019s manufacturer has called on the Federal Government to consider expanding weight-loss drugs\u2019 use for children with obesity.
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\nBut the RACGP says this proposed portion of health budget spending should instead be steered into general practice, where better first-line treatment options for weight loss are supported.
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\nAt a National Press Club address on Monday<\/a>, the President and CEO of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, Mike Doustdar, gave an overview of the rising obesity epidemic to back his calls for the Government to expand the already popular medicine\u2019s availability.
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\nAustralia \u2018has what it takes to tackle obesity\u2019, according to Mr Doustdar, who claims his proposal will not only treat the condition, but prevent it. \u00a0
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\n\u2018It\u2019s a ticking bomb that our children and adolescents are right now becoming more and more obese across the world and we need to find solutions,\u2019 he said.
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\n\u2018The first and foremost solutions are \u2026 healthier environments, healthier school, taking care of exercise and food intake.
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\n\u2018But we are also making sure that our products are being tested and tried on adolescents and making sure that they are safe, so if support and help is needed on that front it\u2019s available.\u2019
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\nThe proposed \u2018Australian-made model\u2019, which Mr Doustdar said he is currently discussing with Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler, focuses on two key platforms.
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\n\u2018Prevent today \u2013 to expand access to treatment,\u2019 he said. \u2018This means actively reforming the PBS, eliminate the average wait time of 466 days to access innovative medicine. It also means proposing a dedicated health budget for obesity, separate from the PBS.
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\n\u2018We also need to protect tomorrow \u2013 ensure the next generation never faces a similar crisis again.\u2019
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\nConsidered blockbuster medicines<\/a>, GLP-1s, including Ozempic, are experiencing a huge rise<\/a> in popularity for weight-loss, with an estimated 50,000<\/a> Australians using the drugs.
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\nIn Australia, Wegovy has Therapeutic Goods Administration approval<\/a> for use in adolescents aged 12 and over for weight loss, while the Product Information for Ozempic<\/a> states the safety and efficacy for those aged under 18 have not been studied.
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\nNovo Nordisk says better health outcomes can be achieved with early intervention, \u2018before patterns are entrenched\u2019 and conditions like obesity \u2018takes hold\u2019.
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\nBut RACGP President Dr Michael Wright warns that more evidence is needed before children are prescribed these drugs, with many other appropriate first-line options available.
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\n\u2018These medications are still new, we\u2019ve got some evidence of them being very effective with diabetes and for some people in reducing weight, but we really need to look at them as one of a number of things people can do to help them maintain a healthy weight,\u2019 he told newsGP.
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\n\u2018Weight loss isn\u2019t just an injection, it is holistic care that GPs are best placed to provide advice on \u2013 about diet, exercise, nutrition.
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\n\u2018Even when people are on these medications there are side effects, and patients will need regular monitoring. So there\u2019s some complexity to providing this medication, which is what GPs are trying to deal with.\u2019
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\nCost is another key factor that needs to be considered, Dr Wright says, with Ozempic only currently PBS subsidised for type 2 diabetes, patients using it for weight loss alone potentially face costs of hundreds each month.
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\n\u2018If we spend a billion dollars more on these medications, that\u2019s a billion dollars less than we\u2019re able to spend elsewhere,\u2019 Dr Wright said.
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\n\u2018We know the complexity of our care is growing and that what we really need is to properly fund people to have more time with their GP<\/a> \u2013 that\u2019s a better return on investment than a broader rollout of these medications.
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\n\u2018We\u2019ve only got a limited health budget, and less than 6% of it goes into general practice. We need to make sure this additional [PBS] funding doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re losing other care that might be more important for patients.\u2019
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\nNovo Nordisk echoes Dr Wright in saying as these medications become more freely available and alternatives appear, costs will be reduced, meaning they will be more affordable for patients whether subsidised by the Government or not.
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\nIf Ozempic is expanded in recognition to treat obesity as a chronic disease, Mr Doustdar claims millions more would benefit, including adolescents \u2018rewriting life expectancy\u2019.
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\nHowever, Dr Wright raises concerns that more evidence is needed about who these medications are appropriate for.
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\n\u2018I wouldn\u2019t be jumping in and giving them to adolescents and kids quite yet,\u2019 he said.
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\n\u2018While the evidence we get from clinical trials is important, they are often on a select patient group, whereas in general practice we know the majority of our patients have one or more chronic health conditions in addition to increased weight.
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\n\u2018So GPs can provide the real-world evidence of how these drugs work in the community and their potential side effects.\u2019
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\nNeighbouring Australia, a new partnership announced this week<\/a> between Novo Nordisk and the Murdoch Children\u2019s Research Institute will see a three-year funded research program aimed at developing models of care to address adolescent obesity across Pacific Island countries.
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\nSet to become a key research effort in the region, the first phase is collating evidence and co-designing potential solutions, with the second a co-design of models of care to assess the feasibility of GLP-1 drugs in real-world settings.
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\nDr Wright says in Australia, caveats remain attached to the Novo Nordisk proposal to more broadly rollout Ozempic, and what GPs\u2019 role will be.
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\n\u2018The trials are in limited people \u2013 we expect them to expand. The drugs are expensive \u2013 we expect them to get cheaper,\u2019 he said.
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\n\u2018GPs will be dealing with this, along with one of multiple issues that many of our patients face. So, we need more time with our patients \u2013 and Medicare reform will fix that.\u2019
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\n children and adolescent health<\/a> GLP-1 drugs<\/a> health budget<\/a> obesity<\/a> Ozempic<\/a> PBS<\/a> semaglutide<\/a> weight-loss drugs<\/a>
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