The next big market opens! Research shows that Eli Lilly's "weight loss miracle drug" helps alleviate symptoms of sleep apnea

This Wednesday, one of the two giants in the weight-loss miracle drug field, the American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, once again announced the optimistic trial results of its GLP-1 weight-loss drug Zepbound - Zepbound is not only suitable for obesity and diabetes, but also has the potential to improve symptoms of sleep apnea.

Zepbound is expected to improve symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea by 63%

The company's statement released on Wednesday showed that in its Phase III trial "SURMOUNT-OSA" against OSA, Zepbound can reduce the number of times obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea experience slowed or stopped breathing at night by as much as 63% from baseline, exceeding the expected 50% reduction by investment banks such as Jefferies and Morgan Stanley.

Experiment results showed that after taking tirzepatide (Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in the weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro), symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea patients improved by 55%, while patients receiving a placebo improved by 5%; and if the drug is used in conjunction with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, patient symptoms can improve by 62.8%.

In addition, patients participating in the 52-week drug trial also lost about 20% of their body weight.

Eli Lilly plans to share the complete trial results at the American Diabetes Association meeting in June and will submit this data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other global regulatory agencies by mid-year to seek approval for Zepbound to treat sleep apnea.

If approved, Zepbound will help more patients access weight loss treatment through insurance. Currently, medical insurance plans such as Medicare in the United States do not cover weight loss drugs like Zepbound.

Eli Lilly, heading towards a trillion-dollar market value?

According to a study published in The Lancet in 2019, approximately 1 billion people worldwide are affected by sleep apnea. Sleep apnea patients typically need to use breathing machines or implants to keep their airways open. These devices are costly, with individual device costs ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. According to GoodRx data, annual maintenance, service, and replacement part costs range from $330 to $900.

According to analysis by Airfinity, weight loss helps alleviate sleep apnea, which affects over 23 million obese adults in the United States. If widely covered by insurance, by 2030, Zepbound could prevent up to 5.6 million cases of sleep breathing disorders.

Airfinity also believes that if Zepbound is approved for the treatment of sleep apnea, it will also impact respiratory device manufacturers such as ResMed and Inspire Medical Systems According to Airfinity's analysis, in the next few years, weight loss drugs may cause the respiratory equipment market to shrink by more than 11%.

In a previous article by Wall Street News, as mentioned in this article, Morgan Stanley believes that the optimistic trial results of Tezepelumab in sleep apnea may generate "spillover effects" beyond the weight loss field, promote medical insurance coverage, and continue to broaden the moat.

Carnegie Investment Counsel portfolio manager Shams Afzal also believes that from treating heart failure to sleep apnea, Lilly's weight loss therapy is expected to open up new markets, which may drive Lilly towards the trillion-dollar mark:

Lilly has truly become a unicorn in the biopharmaceutical field and is expected to reach one trillion dollars in the future.

At the time of writing, Lilly's US stocks rose by about 2% in pre-market trading.