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Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD) and Tandem Diabetes (NASDAQ:TNDM) were among the notable decliners on Thursday after data indicated that popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy can cut the need for insulin injections in people with diabetes.
The findings come at a time when investigators are pursuing clinical trials to see if the blockbuster drugs, known as GLP-1 agonists, marketed by Novo Nordisk (NVO) (OTCPK:NONOF), can bring health benefits other than weight loss.
According to results from a small study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the treatments, also known as semaglutide in generic terms, sharply reduced or even eliminated the need for insulin injections in patients with type 1 diabetes.
“If these findings are borne out in larger studies over extended follow-up periods, it could possibly be the most dramatic change in treating Type 1 diabetes since the discovery of insulin in 1921,” lead investigator Paresh Dandona, MD, said.
Dandona formerly headed the Division of Endocrinology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.
Insulet (TNDM) and Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM), along with their larger rival Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), market continuous insulin delivery systems for people with insulin-dependent diabetes.
The companies’ insulin pumps are integrated with continuous glucose monitors (CGM) from the likes of Abbott (ABT) and DexCom (DXCM).
Remarks made by Insulet (PODD) after the study’s publication didn’t help either. At the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference on Thursday, the company’s CEO, James Hollingshead, cited the potential impact of GLP-1s on the insulin market.
“What we might see is GLP-1s impacting the time to progression to — this is what people are worried about from looking at our business, time to progression on the insulin therapy,” Hollingshead said.
However, he ruled out major concerns, arguing that insulin prescriptions remained flat in the U.S. despite the recent surge in GLP-1 uptake. “And whatever impact on progression, the insulin need is out there, is baked in the cake already with those GLP-1s,” Hollingshead added.
