How GLP-1s, Wegovy, Zepbound are reshaping the economy

Miracle drugs, obesity treatments and thin jabs. Call them what you’ll, few drugs have had a more transformative effect on Wall Street and waistlines over recent a long time than GLP-1s.

Familiarly known under the brand names Wegovy and Zepbound, Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a category of medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity by mimicking hormones produced within the gut to suppress an individual’s appetite and regulate blood sugar.

Since Wegovy first received U.S. approval to treat obesity in 2021, and Zepbound in 2023, the drugs have skyrocketed to fame, bringing long-sought solutions to tens of tens of millions of patients and supercharging the expansion of respective parent firms Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

Obesity is a major risk think about lots of the leading causes of death. As recent applications — and competitors — for the drugs come to light, Wall Street is betting big on the burgeoning industry, with estimates suggesting it might be value upwards of $100 billion by 2030.

Sophie Dix, head of medical affairs at MedExpress, said the drugs’ potential novel applications were “unexpected and promising,” with recent indications for Psoriasis, Asthma, Chronic kidney disease, fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), obesity–related cancers, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Experts say the wide-ranging swathe of applications could open up potentially sweeping implications for each health outcomes and the economy.

The present cost of the drugs is sizeable, with the U.S. list prices for a month’s supply of Lily’s Zepbound or Novo’s Wegovy starting from $1,079.77 to $1,349.02. Estimates from the Jama Health Forum suggest that U.S. Medicare coverage of GLP-1s would increase net spending under the retiree health program by $47.7 billion alone over the subsequent 10 years.

However the anticipated health and economic outcomes are significant, too. Poor health from obesity and obesity related illnesses weigh significantly on health systems and overall productivity, including through lost hours worked, early death and informal caregiving.

Goldman Sachs estimates that GLP-1s could boost U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.4% via increased productivity and healthcare savings, assuming a baseline adoption of 30 million users, in line with a 2024 report. An estimated 2% of U.S. adults — roughly 5 million people — were taking GLP-1s as of a May 2025 report from non-profit Fair Health.

“Poor health imposes significant economic costs that might diminish if health outcomes improve,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote within the report. “Academic studies find that obese individuals are each less more likely to work … and fewer productive once they do.”

Meanwhile in Denmark, Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk’s market capitalization eclipsed that of its home nation’s entire GDP in 2024, and the country’s large and growing weight reduction drug industry continues to have an outsized contribution to the economy.

As such, GLP-1s’ perceived potential — each in obesity and diabetes treatment in addition to other health conditions — is seen sparking a brand new era of drug innovation, with Dix describing the possible impact as “profound” for each future drug development and recent job creation.

Pharma giants including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Roche and Zealand Pharma are already developing competitor obesity treatments, while many more are expanding into metabolic and cardiometabolic disease research, and development with obesity as an entry point.

“It is also vital to bear in mind that first-in-class isn’t best-in-class. Follow-up drugs could also be more powerful, more selective and with unintended effects ironed out or controlled with combination therapies. Consequently, I might anticipate there to be improvements in efficacy, tolerability (fewer unintended effects) and convenience,” Dix said.

The extensive adoption of weight reduction drugs can also be seen having major effects on consumer spending patterns, particularly given the upper propensity for discretionary spending amongst many wealthier, self-funded users.

“These consumers that are the most probably to take the drugs are also those which are liable for quite a lot of consumption,” Aljoscha Janssen, assistant professor of economics on the Singapore Management University, said via video call.

Unsurprisingly, essentially the most visible impact of that at present is on the food and beverage industry. A 2024 Cornell University study found that households with a minimum of one GLP-1 user cut their grocery spend by 5.3% inside six months of adoption, with that rate rising to eight.2% amongst higher-income households.

Those that remained on the drugs for six to 12 months continued to scale back their spend, though at less dramatic rates, in line with updated findings as of Aug. 2025. Meanwhile, those that discontinued the medication returned to pre-adoption spending levels — and, in some cases, rose above them.

Processed snack foods resembling chips, cookies and bakery items saw the most important cutbacks in spending, though reductions were also noted across many staple categories. Only modest increases were recorded in healthier items, resembling yoghurt and fresh fruit.

“The pattern is less about switching to ‘higher’ foods and more about simply buying less food,” Jura Liaukonyte, professor of promoting and applied economics at Cornell University and one in all the report’s authors, told CNBC via email.

That would have significant implications for fast-paced consumer goods (FMCG) firms, in addition to food producers more broadly. Indeed, some firms resembling Nestle and Danone have already begun launching recent lines to diversity their product base and cater for shifting trends. These include high protein meals, smaller portion sizes and foods aimed toward encouraging muscle retention.

The impact of the drugs could go well past food, too. GLP-1s control appetite by targeting the brain’s reward pathway, and specifically the discharge of dopamine to the a part of the brain linked to motivation, pleasure and reward. As such, early studies suggest applications for the drug within the treatment of addictions.

“This modulation of the brain’s reward system extends beyond food, with early evidence suggesting advantages in reducing alcohol misuse, drug dependence, and even gambling,” Dix said.

That has raised concerns for the producers of recreational stimulants like alcohol and tobacco. Cornell’s study, for its part, noted no “meaningful” change in alcohol purchases amongst GLP-1 users, mirroring other literature which points to a possible reduction in intensity of drinking episodes somewhat than frequency.

Spirits giant and Johnnie Walker-maker Diageo said earlier this month that it was “keeping an in depth eye” on GLP-1s but indicated that the impact up to now “has not been significant.”

Elsewhere, the ramifications for other sectors appear wide-reaching. Analysts have posited shifts in retail spending — including greater activewear sales to reduced oversized demand — and fuel-savings for airlines from lighter passenger loads. Gyms and private trainers could also see an uptick in demand, while vacation resorts capitalize on recent opportunities to cater for more lively and health-oriented visitors.

More immediately, eateries from fast-food chains to upscale restaurants are reckoning with a brand new consumer landscape and potentially lower future demand.

“Within the short run, yes, these drugs reduce spending at fast-food and quick-service restaurants. At a national level, this already translates into billions of dollars in reduced sales,” Liaukonyte said.

“However the long-term picture is much less certain. The final word impact will depend heavily on whether people stay on the drugs consistently and for a way long — and we simply do not know that yet.”

For all of the possible economic outcomes of GLP-1s, questions nevertheless remain concerning the societal implications of a drug with such a visual physical marker.

While treatment has rolled out rapidly in only a brief variety of years, accessibility stays limited even in developed countries, with many national health systems restricting covered access to patients with extreme obesity and associated health conditions. Meantime, take up has surged amongst paid customers who’re willing — and able — to fork out personally for the drug.

“We all know that there are huge social determinants of health and that obesity is higher in areas of lower income,” said Dix, who commended public health bodies’ adoption of the drugs but lamented their often “woefully slow” rollout.

“This creates the chance of a two tier society through which only people who can afford it will possibly access these life-changing medications.”

Drug makers have already gone a way in reducing prices, with that trend set to proceed amid policy changes, including President Donald Trump’s U.S. drug pricing order, and increased market competition. Still, with protracted use of the drugs set to weigh on public and private purse strings, analysts warn that policymakers have to be mindful of exacerbating socioeconomic divisions.