Impact of Bariatric Surgeries on the Obesity Pharmaceutical Market

For morbidly obese patients, bariatric surgery is an increasingly attractive option after more traditional weight loss methods have failed. The lack of long-term efficacy and the modest weight loss associated with currently marketed anti-obesity drugs-particularly among morbidly obese patients-do not make them an attractive therapeutic option. As a result, drug prescriptions have declined over the past few years, and the number of annual bariatric surgeries has risen. The issue for pharmaceutical companies is how this growing recognition of bariatric surgery will affect the market for anti-obesity drugs. This report reviews major considerations in the treatment of obesity, including its classification as a disease, and where pharmaceuticals and bariatric surgery fit into the therapeutic algorithm in the United States. We provide an overview of bariatric surgeries, and we discuss promising emerging therapies in the treatment of obesity and the impact we expect bariatric surgery to have on the overall pharmaceutical market in light of the expected launch of Sanofi-Aventis's rimonabant (Acomplia).

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