While sommarutide is undoubtedly an exciting potential treatment option, there is still a lack of clear clinical data on the mechanism of action of GLP-1 agonists in NASH, such as whether GLP-1 agonists have a direct, independent role in improving NASH, or simply by improving body weight, insulin resistance, and so on
How Does GLP-1 work and Who Could Benefit
For health plans including these drugs on their prescription drug formularies, utilization management tools, like prior authorization and step therapy, can be used to allow medically indicated access to the drugs while controlling costs by tying coverage of the drugs to specific clinical and treatment criteria
Men report higher rates of improved health than women (59% versus 49%), while women are more likely to use online clinics and telehealth to access weight-loss medications
In the past month, President Trump has announced several prescription drug pricing deals between his administration and different drugmakers, including deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca related to what they charge state Medicaid programs for some of their drugs, and a subsequent deal with a maker of in vitro fertilization (IVF) drugs aimed at lowering the cost of these treatments