‘Miracle’ drug innovation could see a new Wegovy launch every couple of years, Larry Summers says

Miracle drug innovations — such as those that sparked the meteoric rise of Wegovy and Zepbound — could come every couple of years thanks to new technologies, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Tuesday.

Speaking on a World Economic Forum panel moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, Summers said the world was currently in “a moment of stunning technological possibility” that was driving unprecedented innovation.

“There hasn’t been a moment where the technological possibilities ahead of the world have been as bright as they are today,” he said in Davos, Switzerland, touting developments in green energy, computing and life science sectors.

“We’re going to get into a world where we see a thing like Wegovy and the semaglutides — a miracle drug, a new one — every couple of years,” he said. “And I believe AI will be to the internet as the computer was to the calculator.”

Semaglutides — a class of drug used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity — have become a weight-loss phenomenon in recent years. Demand for the medication has driven huge commercial success for pharma giants including Novo Nordisk, which manufactures semaglutides under the Wegovy and Ozempic brands, and Eli Lilly, which produces competitor Zepbound.

The drugs have also been associated with additional improved health outcomes, with trial data pointing to reduced risk of major cardiovascular events and substance abuse.

Summers suggested that those wide-reaching applications could be replicated across other drug groups and medical conditions in future.

Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, struck a more cautious tone on the outlook for such miracle drug groups.

Referring specifically to the obesity drug group, Narasimhan said Tuesday that while such innovations were “important,” they were unlikely to fully resolve underlying health issues.

“They’ll certainly help a sub-group of patients significantly,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“But the truth is, being on these medicines your entire life is quite a heavy task, especially as you go outside of advanced health care systems,” he said, noting that a comprehensive “rethink” of food systems was needed to combat obesity and associated health issues.

Novartis has thus far remained out of the increasingly competitive weight-loss drug market, 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.