Palermo, October 16 (askanews) – The evolution of obesity treatment was the focus of "SIO WiP – Obesity Work in Progress," the National Congress of the Italian Obesity Society, held in Palermo. Leading Italian experts discussed new scientific frontiers in the treatment of this disease. On the sidelines of the event, Lilly, a pharmaceutical company that has been at the forefront of research for over 150 years, met with the scientific community and the press to discuss, along with some of the congress's speakers, its obesity pipeline and the progress made thanks to incretin-based therapies, the class of molecules that have expanded treatment options in recent years.
Paolo Sbraccia, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and Director of the Internal Medicine Unit and the Obesity Treatment Center at the Tor Vergata Polyclinic, said: "We are still experiencing a revolution that was unthinkable until recently. The first GLP-1 agonist drug was approved in Italy in 2015.
Ten years have passed, and I assure you, it's been a short time. Today, we've moved to weekly injectable therapies; the first was daily. Soon, we'll have the first oral therapies. Furthermore, the news just came out that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee approved one of these two molecules, orforglipron, and final approval will certainly arrive soon.
This will then allow various countries, including Italy, to market them. Oral therapy meets many patient needs: it's simple and convenient. The pen, although administered once a week, must be stored in the refrigerator but is portable. For patients approaching obesity treatment for the first time, the idea of a needle is something that must be overcome. The tablet can be used by patients approaching obesity treatment for the first time, and therefore, it's certainly important that early treatment can prevent the progression of the disease, which, left untreated, certainly occurs. All this improves the therapeutic approach, patient adherence, and provides us doctors with an additional effective, safe, and beneficial tool." Driving scientific innovation is tirzepatide, a molecule that is acquiring an increasingly important role in therapeutic strategies aimed at people with obesity. An interview with Uberto Pagotto, Full Professor of Endocrinology, Alma Mater University of Bologna and Director of the Endocrinology and Diabetes Prevention and Treatment Unit at the S. Orsola IRCCS Polyclinic in Bologna: "The weight reduction achieved with tirzepatide is absolutely extraordinary because it reaches levels we had never seen before with pharmacological treatment. And then pharmacological treatment is now close to bariatric treatment: this is the truly great revolution. Now, in some ways, we can expect to be able to begin addressing the right drug for the right patient, and tirzepatide certainly fits perfectly in a wide range of patients affected not only by weight gain but also by a series of related conditions such as OSA (obstructive sleep apnea), fatty liver disease, and dyslipidemia. And so, from this perspective, we can imagine a treatment for many patients, not only aimed at weight loss but also at all the comorbidities associated with obesity." New drugs, therefore, provide the answer that those suffering from this chronic and progressive disease have long been waiting for: the possibility of more effective therapies and, above all, personalized dosages. And it is precisely within this scenario that Lilly's commitment fits: the company today combines a portfolio of already available therapies with a continuously expanding research program, with the aim of offering the Italian medical community increasingly diversified therapeutic options, capable of meeting the needs of each individual patient.
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