About 42% of U.S. adults are obese, the CDC says. GLP-1 medications have changed the picture for people hoping to reduce risks with obesity.

The Biden administration proposed a rule for Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of weight-loss drugs for millions of Americans with obesity.

The pharmaceutical manufacturer Amgen announced on Tuesday that an experimental obesity drug helped patients lose up to 20 percent of their weight in a year. The drug, MariTide, is given by injection once a month, compared with once a week for other obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound that are already on the market.

The stocks of companies that make the new class of drugs to treat obesity and manage diabetes were higher across the board early Tuesday, after the Biden administration proposed a rule that would allow Medicare or Medicaid to cover the expensive medications.

The proposal would expand coverage of anti-obesity drugs to 7.5 million people covered by Medicare and Medicaid, the Biden administration said.

Amgen Inc.’s stock was down 7% Tuesday, after the company said a mid-stage trial of its weight-loss treatment MariTide showed up to 20% average weight loss at 52 weeks. Analysts were expecting the treatment to achieve an average weight loss of about 20% to 25% after one year,

Millions of obese Americans would get access to popular weekly injectables that would help them shed pounds quickly if a $35 billion proposal from the Biden administration is blessed by President-elect Donald Trump.

This may be the first Thanksgiving for millions of Americans who are on GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, Zepbound or Wegovy.

Amgen's experimental drug MariTide led to an average weight loss of up to 20% in a year-long mid-stage trial of nearly 600 people who were overweight or obese, the company said on Tuesday.

Millions of Americans would be eligible to have costly weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under the rule.