Oral Weight Loss Treatments Offer Patients and Clinicians New Options in Obesity Care

In a video interview with Pharma Commerce, Derrick Gastineau, head of marketing with Currax Pharmaceuticals, emphasizes the importance of pricing consistency in improving access, affordability, and long-term adherence to obesity treatments, particularly with FDA-approved oral weight loss drugs. He explained that one of the primary frustrations patients face is the unpredictability of out-of-pocket costs. This uncertainty can deter patients from initiating treatment altogether, as they may lack confidence in their ability to sustain the therapy financially over the long term.

Gastineau noted that consistency in pricing addresses this barrier by offering patients a predictable and manageable financial pathway to care. Programs designed to provide reliable cash-pay options, such as those facilitated through mail-order pharmacies, help patients integrate treatment costs into their budgets with greater confidence. This assurance is particularly important in the case of chronic conditions like obesity, where ongoing treatment is essential to achieving meaningful health outcomes.

By stabilizing the cost of therapy, such programs not only improve access but also support adherence. Patients are more likely to stay committed to their medication regimen when they know that affordability will not suddenly become an obstacle. This has significant implications for long-term health benefits, as consistent therapy can lead to better outcomes and reduced overall healthcare costs.

Gastineau highlighted that obesity, like many chronic diseases, requires a long-term treatment approach. Ensuring patients have uninterrupted access to affordable medication is therefore a critical factor in driving sustainable health improvements. In this context, consistent cash-pay programs are not merely financial tools but essential components of chronic disease management.

Ultimately, Gastineau framed the issue as one of equity and sustainability: when patients can rely on steady, affordable access to medications, they are more empowered to take charge of their health and achieve lasting results in managing obesity.

He also described what makes treatment options an attractive alternative from both a clinical and patient experience standpoint; how marketers can effectively communicate the safety and regulatory advantages of approved therapies over compounded or off-label treatments in the weight management space; and what needs to be done to combat bad actors in the sector?

A transcript of his conversation with PC can be found below.

PC: With patient fatigue increasing around injectable weight loss therapies, what makes oral treatment options an attractive alternative from both a clinical and patient experience standpoint?

Gastineau: I'm glad you mentioned both the patient and the clinical side of things, because it's experienced I think on both sides of that treatment conversation that's being had between clinicians and the patients. When we're talking about a chronic health condition with a patient population at the levels of the obesity epidemic that we're experiencing, I think having multiple options in the toolbox for HCPs to choose from, you can't overstate the importance of that when you're managing a very widespread chronic disease, especially one with the heterogeneity of obesity. Likewise, patients need to be informed about all of the available treatment options—emphasis on the word all—that they have so they can make an educated decision in partnership with their clinician, obviously, about what is best for their health and their individual situation.

Whether it's mode of action, the oral versus injectable medications, mechanism of action, the importance of having different classes of drugs to be able to manage a disease like obesity that is heterogeneous, or even how patients gain access to the medication, we need as many options as possible for this disease, and I'm really happy to see the development that's happening in this space and the innovation that's being brought forward. But there's not only room for, but a need for as many as options as possible to really get a handle around the disease of obesity.