Corporate America weighs risks of the Ozempic effect
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[October 20, 2023]
(Reuters) - U.S. companies across sectors such as food and
beverage makers and manufacturers of glucose monitors have faced
investor questions over the risk to future sales from the growing
popularity of promising weight-loss treatments.
Drugs in a class known as GLP-1, such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and
Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, have been shown to help control blood
sugar and dramatically lower weight in clinical trials.
Here's what companies have said about the potential impact:
RETAILERS, FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANIES
Conagra might consider changing portion sizes of its snacks if the
rising use of weight-loss drugs leads to a change in food consumption
patterns.
Walmart expects revenues from its health and wellness products to
increase in the second half of the year, mainly due to the popularity of
weight-loss drugs.
PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston has said the company is
"not seeing any impact" yet from the popularity of weight-loss drugs.
DIALYSIS SERVICES PROVIDERS
Germany's Fresenius Medical Care said that use of Ozempic and other
drugs of the same class would have an overall neutral effect on how many
patients would require its kidney dialysis services in the future.
Davita is closely monitoring developments related to the drug and
expects limited impact from use of the drugs, since they may only
benefit some kidney disease patients.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/20/images/ads/current/chicagost_sda_FOOTBALL_2023.png)
MEDICAL DEVICE MAKERS
Johnson & Johnson's third-quarter sales for devices used in abdomen
surgeries was hit by a slowdown in demand for weight-loss and other
procedures, as many obese patients turned to Wegovy and Ozempic.
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![](../images/102023PIX/health31.jpg)
Boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating
type 2 diabetes made by Novo Nordisk, is seen at a Rock Canyon
Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. March 29, 2023. REUTERS/George
Frey/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Oct/20/images/ads/current/graue_lda_PPP_2023.png) The company's Chief Financial
Officer Joseph Wolk said use of the drugs could eventually make
patients eligible for procedures like hip and knee replacements or
other orthopedic surgeries.
Abbott Laboratories, which makes glucose monitoring products, has
said that the market was overestimating the impact to its sales from
growing popularity of the drugs.
Abbott CEO Robert Ford has said that diabetes patients could end up
using glucose monitors with the weight-loss drugs in the long term.
Insulet Corp expects that the use of Ozempic and Mounjaro could
delay the time for patients to become dependent on insulin, but does
not expect its long-term market for insulin pumps to be impacted.
Surgical robots maker Intuitive Surgical has warned that Wegovy's
popularity is weighing on demand for bariatric, or weight-loss,
surgeries.
DRUG DISTRIBUTORS
Cencora, formerly called AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and
McKesson have flagged potential boost to revenues this year owing to
the growing demand for weight-loss drugs.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank
Dhaniwala)
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