Clalit Health Services announced on Monday that it will subsidize the long-standing Wegovy injection by 50%.
This comes after both Maccabi and Meuhedet Health Services announced the same subsidy for the Mounjaro weight loss shot.
Mounjaro costs NIS 1,800 per month at the maximum dose, an amount that does not allow most of the population in Israel to purchase it. The new price at the maximum dose with Maccabi and Meuhedet will decrease from January 1 to approximately NIS 900 per month.
Mounjaro, which the FDA approves for treating type 2 diabetes in adults, is also used to treat obesity in people aged 18 and over. It affects the feeling of satiety, appetite regulation, and the regulation and balance of blood sugar levels.
The drug contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, which, like other drugs, mimics the hormone 1-GLP but also acts as an additional mechanism for the hormone GIP, thus demonstrating high clinical efficacy.
Success in global weight loss drug market
The drug arrived in Israel in recent months after great success in the global weight loss drug market, with study results showing a 15-20% reduction in body weight over 72 weeks. Along with weight loss, the drug was found to help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adults by 94%.
Clalit’s subsidy drug of choice is Wegovy, an older equivalent weight loss injection. The subsidy will only be provided to Clalit Mushlam insureds.
Instead of paying NIS 1,300 per month for a Wegovy injection at the maximum dose, it will cost NIS 627. At lower doses, it will also be subsidized in the range of NIS 290 and above, depending on the required dose.
Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s competitor in the weight loss injection market, and Mounjaro belong to a group of drugs based on the simulation of natural hormones in the body, which control appetite and stimulate a feeling of satiety. The drugs act on receptors in the central nervous system, thereby reducing the feeling of hunger and helping to significantly reduce weight.
Beyond their ability to effectively reduce weight, these injections also present important health benefits. Recent studies show that Wegovy reduces sugar levels and helps prevent diabetes as well as the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Recently, the drug was also approved for use in the treatment of sleep apnea, a dangerous condition that increases the risk of morbidity and mortality.
Dr. Eyal Jacobson, Medical Director of Clalit Mushlam, said, “Half of the population aged 20 and over in Israel is obese or overweight, and I see it as of utmost importance to continue to make services and medications that promote a healthy lifestyle accessible.”
Prof. Dror Dicker, Chairman of the Israeli Society for Obesity Research and Treatment and Director of the Multidisciplinary Obesity Clinic at the Sharon Hospital of the Clalit Group, added, “We are in an era in which a revolution is taking place against our interests in the field of obesity treatment.
“We now have tools that we did not have in the past to treat this epidemic. The data show that the use of new drugs such as Vigabatrin, more than leading to significant weight loss, improves health indicators and reduces the incidence of cardiovascular diseases as well as other metabolic diseases,” he concluded.