High demand of popular obesity drug Saxenda; May be going to "wrong" patients

Since April of this year there has been a high demand for the obesity drug Saxenda, but the weight-loss pill may have been prescribed to the wrong patients. The Dutch healthcare institute, Zorginstituut Nederland (ZIN), was already warned about the possibility before the introduction, AD reports.

According to the newspaper, the number of users of the waist-slimming drug is much larger than the ZIN had estimated. Since April 1, the drug has been covered by basic healthcare insurance for the treatment of people with serious obesity.

According to the Zorginstituut it was initially expected that about 250 Dutch people would use the medicine in the first year, rising to 657 in the third year. However, Dutch health insurance company Zilveren Kruis alone has reimbursed about 3,500 patients for the medication, AD reports.

Other Dutch health insurance companies, such as VGZ and CZ, also report that the number of users is greater than expected and that the number of Saxenda users is higher than expected based on the calculations of the ZIN.

Saxenda, the drug that aims to reduce the feeling of hunger, is the first anti-obesity drug to be reimbursed as part of the basic package.

The pill is supposed to help patients with a BMI of 40 or higher, or with a BMI of 35 and an underlying disease such as osteoarthritis cardiovascular disease, or are eligible for reimbursement. But it is only reimbursed if people participate in a so-called combined lifestyle intervention (GLI), in which they are helped with more exercise and healthier eating.

However, patients initially did not have to participate, or only for a short time before they were reimbursed for the medicine, but that has been adjusted, reports AD. Now, someone with obesity must participate in the program for at least a year before the drug is reimbursed.