More Americans taking Ozempic will boost the US economy, Goldman says
foxbusiness.comFOX News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel discusses how prepared hospital E.R.s are to treat kids and the side effects of weight loss drugs on 'The Big Money Show.'
More widespread use of powerful weight-loss drugs like Ozempic in the U.S. could boost the economy in the coming years, according to Goldman Sachs strategists.
The bank estimates that weight-loss drugs, called GLP-1 agonists, could increase the nation's gross domestic product by an extra 1% over the next decade, the equivalent of about $360 billion per year.
The thinking behind Goldman's forecast is that poor health is a burden to economic growth, largely because it limits the number of available workers and hours worked due to increased missed days at work as a result of «sickness and disability, early deaths and informal caregiving.»
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This photograph taken on Feb. 23, 2023, in Paris, shows the anti-diabetic medication Ozempic made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In fact, Goldman said that GDP in the U.S. would potentially be more than 10% higher if poor health outcomes did not affect the labor supply.
«The main reason we see meaningful upside from healthcare innovation is that poor health imposes significant economic costs. There are several channels through which poor health weighs on economic activity that could diminish if health outcomes improve,» the analysts, led by Jan Hatzius, wrote.
Drug companies are vying to join what has largely been a two-horse race to make obesity drugs. Novo Nordisk – the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy – and Eli Lilly, the producer of Mounjaro, skyrocketed in popularity last year amid
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