(NewsNation) — Hoping to cash in on their growing popularity, food giant Nestlé said it was working on products to accompany the surge in the off-label use of diabetes drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to multiple reports.
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.
The active ingredient in the drugs works by inducing the feeling of being satisfied or “full,” suppressing appetite. This is why it works for weight loss.
In response to the soaring popularity of so-called appetite-killing drugs, the Swiss food giant is developing products to “companion” the weight loss drugs, acting amid fears they will dampen demand and erode their bottom lines.
“We’re working already on a wide range of products that could serve as companion products,” Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said during an earnings briefing, noting that some supplements can help combat with the “loss of lean muscle mass” and “rapid regain of weight.”
The medicine in the diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people with obesity or who are overweight lose at least a quarter of their body weight, or about 60 pounds on average when combined with intensive diet and exercise, a new study showed.
Schneider said the company has not seen any impact from such drugs on sales so far, referring to the threat they pose to the packaged food industry.
“The largest parts of our portfolio will not be affected” by the new breed of weight loss drugs, he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.