Larry Summers, President Emeritus and Professor at Harvard University, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
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Miracle drug innovations — like those that fueled the meteoric rise of Wegovy and Zepbound — could happen every few years thanks to new technologies, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted on Tuesday.
Speaking on a World Economic Forum panel moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, Summers said the world is currently in a “moment of stunning technological opportunity” that is driving unprecedented innovation.
“There has never been a time when the technological opportunities before the world have been as great as today,” he said in Davos, Switzerland, praising developments in the green energy, computing and life sciences sectors.
“We’re going to enter a world where we’re going to see something like Wegovy and semaglutide — a miracle drug, a new one — every few years,” he said. “I believe AI will be to the Internet as the computer was to the calculator.”
Semaglutides — a class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity — have become a weight loss phenomenon in recent years. The demand for the drug has increased a great commercial success including pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordiskwhich produces semaglutide under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, and Eli Lillywhich produces competitor Zepbound.
The drugs are also associated with additional improved health outcomes, with trial data indicating a reduced risk of major cardiovascular events and substance abuse.
OZEMPIC, WEGOVY AND OTHER WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS SEIZED AT JFK AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL POST FACILITY.
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Summers suggested that these broad applications could be mapped to other drug classes and medical conditions in the future.
Vas Narasimhan, CEO of a Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartishe struck a more cautious tone about the prospects for such groups of miracle drugs.
Referring specifically to a group of obesity drugs, Narasimhan said on Tuesday that while such innovations are “important”, they are unlikely to completely solve underlying health problems.
“They will certainly help a subset of patients significantly,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
“But the truth is that being on these drugs for a lifetime is a pretty difficult task, especially if you’re outside advanced health systems,” he said, noting that a comprehensive “rethinking” of food systems is needed to combat obesity and related health problems.
Novartis has so far stayed out of the increasingly competitive weight-loss drug market, telling CNBC in September that it no plans to join the “madness”.
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Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Larry Summers’ name in the headline.
