Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.
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Miracle pharmaceutical innovations – like those that sparked the meteoric rise of Wegovy and Zepbound – could occur every two years thanks to new technologies, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Tuesday.
Speaking on a World Economic Forum panel moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, Summers said the world is currently in “a moment of staggering technological possibility” that is leading to unprecedented innovation.
“There has not been a time when the technological possibilities of the world have been as brilliant as today,” he said in Davos, Switzerland, touting developments in green energy sectors , computer science and life sciences.
“We’re going to enter a world where we see something like Wegovy and semaglutides — a wonder drug, a new one — every two years,” he said. “And I believe that AI will be to the Internet what 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. Demand for the drug has led to huge commercial success for pharmaceutical giants, including Novo Nordisk, which manufactures semaglutides under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, and Elie Lillywhich produces the competitor Zepbound.
The medications have also been associated with further improvement in health outcomes, with trial data indicating a reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events and drug addiction.
SEIZURE OF OZEMPIC, WEGOVY AND OTHER WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS AT JFK AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL MAIL FACILITY.
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Summers suggested that these wide-ranging applications could be replicated in other drug groups and medical conditions in the future.
Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, took a more cautious tone on the prospects of these wonder drug groups.
Referring specifically to the group of anti-obesity drugs, Narasimhan said Tuesday that while such innovations were “important,” they were unlikely to completely solve underlying health problems.
“They will definitely help a subgroup of patients in a meaningful way,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
“But the truth is that taking these medications all your life is quite a task, especially if you move away from advanced health systems,” he said, emphasizing that a global “rethinking” of systems food was necessary to combat obesity and associated health problems.
Novartis has so far stayed away from the increasingly competitive market for weight-loss drugs, telling CNBC in September that it had no plans to join the “frenzy.”
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Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Larry Summers’ name in the headline.
