Health
AstraZeneca Eyes Market for Cheap Ozempic-Like Drug in Pill Form
- Soriot envisions cosmetic weight-loss market, not just obesity
- Astra focusing on democratizing obesity treatment worldwide
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AstraZeneca Plc Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot envisions his company bringing more affordable drugs to people who need to lose a modest amount of weight for health reasons but don’t necessarily have obesity.
One day after the UK drugmaker announced a deal to develop an obesity pill with a Chinese biotech, Eccogene, Soriot said the company is aiming for a once-daily pill that’s less costly to produce than injectable obesity medicines, such as Wegovy from Novo Nordisk A/S and newly approved Zepbound from Eli Lilly & Co. That would allow AstraZeneca to sell it at a far lower price than those drugs, which go for more than $1,000 a month in the US.