Latest news with #weightlossdrugs
BBC News
18 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
US demand for weight loss drugs drives Irish exports
A huge surge in Ireland's goods exports in the first quarter of 2025 was partially due to demand for weight loss drugs in the United States, the central bank in Dublin has said. The main reason for the big rise in Irish exports was businesses getting goods into the US before President Donald Trump's tariffs took effect in April. March was a record month for Irish exports to the US with sales worth $25bn (£18.7bn), 400% higher than the same period in 2024. The Central Bank of Ireland said this surge was "concentrated in a single product category: ingredients used in weight loss and diabetes medicines". It added that when the tariff effect was stripped out there was "some evidence of strong momentum in underlying goods exports related to weight loss products, ingredients for which are manufactured in Ireland". "The pharmaceutical sector in Ireland appears well placed to take advantage of rapidly rising global demand for these products." Weight loss drugs manufactured in Ireland The US firm Eli Lilly makes the active pharmaceutical ingredients for its Zepbound and Mounjaro weight loss treatments near Kinsale in County Cork. Earlier this decade it invested $800m (£597m) in the Cork facility to help meet anticipated demand for the drug. Eli Lilly said in the first quarter of 2025 its sales of the drugs were worth just over $6bn (£4.5bn) compared to $2.3bn (£1.7bn) in the same period in 2024. Zepbound and Mounjaro are among a class of drugs which work as an appetite suppressant by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This is an intestinal hormone which is released after eating, and typically makes people feel fuller. Most of the US's major pharmaceutical companies have manufacturing operations in Ireland, partially for tax reasons. That has made the US Ireland's biggest export market with pharmaceuticals the most important sector. Trump has not yet imposed tariffs on pharmaceuticals but is threatening to do so on national security grounds. Until that happens the majority of Irish goods exported to the US do not face tariffs.
CBS News
10-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
McDonald's shares slip after downgrade spurred by weight-loss drug popularity
McDonald's shares dropped Tuesday as weight-loss drugs threaten to take a big bite out of the fast food chain's earnings. Shares were down by as much as 1.7% Tuesday, after equity analysis firm Redburn Atlantic downgraded the burger giant's stock rating two notches, from buy to sell. Changes in Americans' eating habits spurred by the use of the class of drugs known as GLP-1s, which are designed to help regulate users' blood sugar and appetite, pose an underappreciated threat to some food businesses, according to Redburn Atlantic analysts Chris Luyckx and Edward Lewis. As a result, McDonald's could lose up to 28 million customer visits, resulting in a revenue loss of $482 million per year — about 0.9% of the company's sales, according to the analysis. The appetite-suppressing drugs are expected to have a transformative effect on how Americans consume food. At particular risk are brands that cater to lower-income consumers — a category to which McDonald's belongs. That's because spending on food away from home among lower-income households who start using GLP-1 drugs declines and tends to remain depressed, according to the report, creating "material implications for chains with broad mass-market exposure." Higher-income users of the drugs, by contrast, decrease their spending before reverting to old spending patterns within one year, the analysis found. "Behaviour changes extend beyond the individual user — reshaping group dining, influencing household routines and softening habitual demand. A 1% drag today could easily build to 10% or more over time, particularly for brands skewed toward lower income consumers or group occasions," the analysts said in a research note. Pricing fatigue Inflationary pressures and consumers' strained budgets only compound problems for McDonald's, according to the report. "Consumers are showing clear signs of pricing fatigue after years of aggressive menu inflation," the analysts wrote. "Although the gap between eating out and at home has narrowed, it remains historically wide, reinforcing value concerns." The Redburn analysis refers to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy as "demand disruptors" for restaurants like McDonald's, because they reduce users' appetites and limit the number of calories they consume each day. These features of the drugs "could have serious implications for the restaurant industry," Redburn analysts wrote. To be sure, adoption of the drugs is not yet widespread, with just 12% of U.S. adults ever having tried the meds. Currently, only 6% of the adult population uses the drugs. Wider adoption of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss could ultimately lead to a broad-based reduction in Americans' caloric intake at restaurants, including fast food joints, reversing a decades-long trend. From 1977 to 2018, the total share of calories consumed at restaurants nearly tripled, according to Redburn Atlantic's analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Compared with other fast food brands, McDonald's is the most exposed to taking a hit from the increased usage of GLP-1 drugs, according to the research. More pressing challenges However, Peter Saleh, managing director and restaurant and food distributors analyst at BTIG global financial services, said McDonald's is facing other headwinds, and he wouldn't expect GLP-1s to meaningfully eat into its earnings, at least not in the near-term. For one, McDonald's core customer base consists of low- and middle-income consumers who are unlikely to be able to afford GLP-1 drugs, said Saleh, who doesn't foresee there being much overlap between the fast food giant's patrons and adopters of the drugs. "I don't think there would be a meaningful GLP-1 impact on McDonald's right now, but that's not to say that in three or four years that won't be the case," he said. "I just don't think we are there yet."
BBC News
04-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
BBC Learning English - Learning English from the News / Weight-loss drugs reduce cancer risk, study finds
() ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ The story Weight-loss drugs like could reduce the risk of getting cancer by half, new research suggests. Cancer experts are excited by the findings, with one saying that this could be a whole new era of preventative cancer medicine. Obesity is associated with 13 different cancers. Losing weight reduces the risk, but the researchers have calculated that the weight-loss drugs provide an additional protective effect, beyond just weight loss. The authors of the study think this could be because the drugs reduce inflammation in the body. News headlines Weight loss jabs may prevent cancer due to health benefits 'beyond weight loss' Daily Record Weight-loss jabs 'halve the risk of cancer' The Telegraph Weight loss jabs could almost halve risk of obesity-related cancers beyond slimming down, study suggests Sky News Key words and phrases jabs injections I hate getting jabs – I'm really scared of needles. halve reduce by half The theme park halved its prices for the day to attract more customers. slim down become thinner Dad wants to slim down before our friend's wedding so he can fit into his old suit. Next If you like learning English from the news, click here Learn more Phrasal verbs with Georgie
Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Times
I used to go to Weight Watchers — but I've switched to fat jabs
The news that Weight Watchers has gone bankrupt doesn't really surprise me. According to a poll by the NHS last December, one in five Britons would use weight-loss drugs if they were free on the health service, with one in seven having taken them or knowing someone who has. Now that there is talk of them being available at pharmacies and costing the same as a prescription in the future, these drugs are fundamentally changing the way we lose weight. If you have a population who can shed pounds by giving themselves a weekly injection — and that's really all they need to do — why would anyone go to Weight Watchers? It did make me feel a little bit sad though, because I used
