The High Authority for Health (HAS) has issued conditional favorable opinions on the reimbursement by health insurance of the antidiabetic drug Mounjaro from the American pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly, used in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The opinions on these two different indications, validated in mid-July by the commission which evaluates medicines, were made public on Friday on X.
In obesity, reimbursement of Mounjaro is recommended “only as a complement to a low-calorie diet and an increase in physical activity in weight control”.
It is recommended that this treatment “only be prescribed after advice from a specialist in the management of obesity” in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 35 kg/m³ in the event of failure of well-conducted nutritional management (less than 5% weight loss at six months).
The commission also considers it “necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment after 6 months, and to consider a possible cessation, particularly in the event of weight loss of less than 5%”.
In the absence of robust comparative data compared to other GLP-1 analogues indicated in obesity, Wegovy (semaglutide) or Saxenda (liraglutide), Mounjaro cannot be prioritised over these molecules, judges the HAS.
In type 2 diabetes, a green light for Mounjaro management was recommended only “in adults for the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes in addition to diet and physical activity”, and “in 2nd or 3rd line of treatment”.
Mounjaro belongs to a class of treatments that mimic an intestinal hormone (GLP-1, short for glutaco-like peptide 1), which stimulates insulin secretion and provides a feeling of satiety.
These new generation drugs, which also include Wegovy and Ozempic from the Danish Novo Nordisk, bring hope to millions of people because they can lead to greater weight loss than previous treatments.
They are all the rage on social networks and generate astronomical profits for the pharmaceutical companies that market them.
pan/ic/grd/cbn
ELI LILLY & CO
NOVO NORDISK
