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May 28 (Reuters) - France will reimburse the cost of weight-loss drugs prescribed to severely obese patients from mid-June in a first for a European Union country, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Thursday.
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro medications have led a boom in anti-obesity treatment, attracting interest from governments keen to address rising overweight levels worldwide.
Rist estimated the annual cost to the state at around €100 million ($116 million) at full rollout. Patients in France are currently paying around €300 per month on average for the drugs, she said, without indicating how many people currently follow such treatments.
"The target population is around one million people. However, this does not mean that everyone will receive the treatment, as it always depends on the individual case and the doctor’s prescription," Rist said in an interview with TF1 channel
The reimbursement through France's social security system, covering Wegovy and Mounjaro injectable treatments, will be available for severely obese patients with a body mass index of at least 35 with at least one comorbidity, or a BMI of at least 40 regardless of comorbidities, she said.
The drugs will be reimbursed at 65%, though in practice the vast majority of eligible patients benefit from 100% coverage due to comorbidities, she added.
"It addresses a growing public health challenge and the urgency of appropriate therapeutic care," Etienne Tichit, General Manager of Novo Nordisk France told Reuters in emailed comments.
Anti-obsesity drugs have been available in France through medical prescription since 2024.
"This demonstrates the foresight and maturity of the French system, as well as its commitment to providing the resources required to tackle this chronic disease,” Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in the company's emailed comments.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have also launched oral versions of their anti-obesity drugs in the highly competitive U.S. market. The European Medicines Agency last week recommended approval of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill, clearing the way for it to become the first oral weight-loss drug in Europe.
($1 = 0.8613 euros)
(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Dominique Vidalon, Mark Potter and Gus Trompiz)
