The national essential medicines list committee has prioritised the review of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 medicines, according to a senior health department official.
The review will determine whether the drugs — used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity — will be added to SA’s essential medicines list and provided to state patients. The review will include an assessment of the affordability of GLP-1, said the health department’s deputy director-general for primary healthcare, Jeanette Hunter.
In September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) added GLP-1s to its essential drugs list for managing diabetes and on Monday released a new guideline for their use as a long-term obesity treatment.
Three GLP-1s are approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority: Novo Nordisk’s liraglutide and semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, branded Mounjaro and Zepbound, and marketed in South Africa by Aspen Pharmacare.
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