How GLP-1 weight loss drugs are reshaping the healthcare industry

A new report by Wells Fargo spotlights how GLP-1 weight loss drugs are reshaping the healthcare industry by addressing obesity.

Wells Fargo released a report Thursday which notes that much of the American healthcare system has been structured around obesity, given it has become a foundational condition in the country with 40.3% of adults considered obese and 9.4% severely obese.

Usage of GLP-1 drugs surged in recent years, rising over 140% from 2022 to 2024, which had a significant impact on hospital services aimed at treating obesity. In that same timeframe, bariatric surgery volumes fell 34.1%.

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“GLP-1s may be marketed as weight-loss drugs, but they’re rapidly becoming one of the most disruptive economic forces in healthcare,” John Teasley, market executive for Wells Fargo Healthcare Banking, told FOX Business. “We’re seeing a medication class with the potential to reshape how providers generate revenue, where investors allocate capital, and how consumers engage with their health.”

The report said that the healthcare system and hospitals in particular are having to adapt to a changing landscape caused by the rise of GLP-1 semaglutide drugs, as obesity patients who previously would’ve undergone surgery after attempting to diet now have a pharmaceutical alternative that is “visible, reversible, and socially normalized.”

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GLP-1s may also have an impact on cardiology, with a trial showing that their use reduced major cardiovascular events by 20% in overweight or obese adults without diabetes. If that trend prevails at scale, hospitals would see fewer procedures, repeat admissions, complications and other downstream interventions – leading to a sizable reduction in demand for those services.

Other aspects of managing chronic obesity may also evolve with increased use of GLP-1 therapies, with more longitudinal management, outpatient visits, side effect monitoring and medication management. It could also have implications for treating comorbidities driven by obesity, like knee and hip replacements, sleep apnea and metabolic liver disease, the Wells Fargo analysts noted.

“The biggest takeaway from our research isn’t that healthcare is shrinking, it’s that healthcare is being rewired,” Teasley said.

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The report said that the rise of GLP-1 treatments is also reshaping the development strategies of pharmaceutical companies, noting an analysis by Deloitte that obesity drugs are now the largest component of the late-stage pipeline after surpassing oncology treatments for the first time in 16 years.

GLP-1 drugs drove that increase almost exclusively, raising obesity treatments from 1% of the pipeline in 2022 to about 25% now, while oncology slipped to 20% after being at 32% in 2022.

“Obesity therapies have already taken cancer as the pharmaceutical industry’s leading area of investment, reflecting growing confidence that these treatments could improve the health of millions of Americans while fundamentally reshaping one of the country’s largest industries,” Teasley said.

The Wells Fargo report concluded that the likely winners in the healthcare industry will opt against trying to defend the old model, and instead reposition ahead of it – such as by reallocating capital and talent toward obesity medicine, integrated cardiometabolic care and specialty pharmacy services.