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Drug Sema-ntics: Paying $15K to Save $5-10K !?

Why is it that so many "solutions" to chronic disease are good-news/bad-news?

Take great news about the "miracle-drug" semaglutide.  Originally for people with type 2 diabetes, a recent study shows it can reduce weight by 10-20%+ for those with obesity--with minimal side-effects, and requiring only a weekly subcutaneous (just-under-the-skin) self-administered injection.  That amount of weight loss is also often enough to reverse prediabetes & even type 2 diabetes!

So what's the bad news?  

Semaglutide is a proprietary biologic pharmaceutical.  It costs close to $1000/month for the smaller dose needed to manage diabetes.  Extrapolating this, the larger dose used in the study to reduce obesity could cost $2000+/month!  Reducing the cost substantially could be a challenge.  Biologics are typically more complex & expensive to manufacture than traditional pharmaceuticals.

And BTW: if you stop taking semaglutide after losing that weight, you will tend to gain it back again :(   So we're talking a lifetime of expensive meds--not just enough to lose excess weight.  And you generally need to keep weight off to sustainably improve your health after losing weight.

Given that chronic diseases on average cost $5-10K/person/year more than not having chronic conditions, the semaglutide "solution" is likely in many/most cases to cost more than it saves.  Yet semaglutide is a standout, with no viable better alternative. 

We need to stop assuming that a miracle drug will eventually save us from preventable chronic diseases.  Developing healthier activity & nutrition habits for the whole population K-12 is a practical low-cost solution that we can implement now.  

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