Overview

• WHO added semaglutide and liraglutide to its essential medicines list and called for low-cost generics to expand access, citing rising obesity and diabetes burdens.
• Novo Nordisk’s industry-led Steer study, presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting, suggested Wegovy users had a 57% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or death than tirzepatide users, a preliminary observational result that dropped to 29% after accounting for treatment gaps.
• A large cohort analysis published in JAMA reported roughly 40% lower hospitalization for HFpEF and all-cause mortality for semaglutide and tirzepatide compared with sitagliptin, reinforcing potential heart-failure benefits.
• Facing high costs, payers are tightening access or testing time-limited coverage and deprescription strategies, with North Carolina Medicaid set to end weight-loss GLP-1 coverage on Oct. 1 and Pennsylvania planning to narrow eligibility.
• CVS Caremark was hit with a class-action lawsuit after dropping Zepbound in favor of Wegovy on a key formulary; CVS defends the move as clinically appropriate and cost-lowering, while EHR data show many patients switched to Wegovy after the change.