The pharmaceutical industry's rush into blockbuster weight-loss drugs risks diverting attention from insulin production, potentially worsening shortages in poorer countries, the Access to Medicine Foundation has warned. The Netherlands-based non-profit group said that whilst medications such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro have transformed obesity and diabetes treatment, companies are prioritising the more profitable weight-loss market over basic diabetes care. Jay Iyer, the foundation's chief executive, warned that many people still cannot access insulin, which remains critical for people with type 1 diabetes despite 105 years of development.
An estimated 589 million adults globally have diabetes, with 81 per cent living in low- and middle-income countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan. In these regions, GLP-1 medications are barely available and often priced beyond reach, whilst basic insulin remains inaccessible to many who need it. The foundation raised alarm that pharmaceutical companies could abandon the insulin market entirely. Novo Nordisk has already announced plans to phase out some older diabetes products including insulin pens, though France's Sanofi has just begun construction on a new insulin production facility at its Frankfurt BioCampus. Sanofi supplies insulin to 15 million people across more than 100 countries annually, and Eli Lilly received US approval for a new once-weekly insulin injection for type 2 diabetes patients in September.
Pharmaceutical firms can charge substantially higher prices for weight-loss injections and pills than for insulin, creating greater profit margins. The foundation's biennial report, part-funded by UK and Dutch governments, found that most new medications in development target type 2 diabetes, with only 10 of 25 addressing type 1 diabetes. GLP-1 drugs remain unregistered in many lower-income countries, and where available, their expense and lack of equitable pricing leave them unaffordable for most people in those regions.
Novo Nordisk responded by saying it would carefully review the foundation's findings, including opportunities to broaden access to analogue insulins and extend access plans to more low- and middle-income countries. In the foundation's global health equity ranking, Switzerland's Novartis topped the list, followed by Britain's AstraZeneca in third place with access plans covering almost all its drugs in late-stage development. Nearly two-thirds of cancer drugs now include measures to improve availability in poorer countries.
For UK savers, borrowers and investors, this means pharmaceutical companies' drug pricing strategies and supply decisions in developing markets could affect the long-term stability of treatment options globally and influence which firms offer better value through responsible access practices.