The news: A majority of GLP-1 weight loss drug consumers are now staying on the medications for more than a year, per an annual Prime Therapeutics analysis. The Prime study includes 5,780 people via healthcare claims over three years; the mean age was 47 and 80% were women.

Digging into the data: People who take Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for obesity and weight management are taking the drug longer and are more adherent.

• 63% of the GLP-1 users who began taking the drugs in Q1 2024 were still filling their prescriptions 12 months later.
• That’s almost double the 33% one-year persistence rate of people who started on Wegovy in 2021. For context: The 2021 data only includes Wegovy because it was approved in 2021, Zepbound not until 2023.

Why it matters: Longer-term use has implications for companies and marketers across pharma, health insurance, and the food industry.

Long-term use of GLP-1s creates an opportunity for pharma companies to sell lower doses for long-term maintenance. Novo and Lilly are developing more weight loss drugs alongside Wegovy and Zepbound, but new players including Amgen, Roche, Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim hope to enter the market with their own obesity drug candidates. Drugmakers in the space can expect higher sales from patients staying on the drugs longer.  

Insurers’ concerns over consumers regaining weight due to short-term use may be alleviated. Obesity is linked to more expensive medical conditions that insurers will be on the hook to pay for, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.

CPG and food sellers can no longer assume that GLP-1 patients will stop treatment and revert to their prior habits. Brands like Nestlé, PepsiCo and Conagra will need to develop more protein-rich, high-fiber drink and snack alternatives that support weight loss drug users.

The final word: Adherence rates longer than a year validates the idea that prescription weight loss GLP-1s, and newer drugs on the way, are here to stay as chronic disease treatments. It shifts typical weight loss marketing from cyclical—keep your New Year’s resolution or lose weight for your wedding—to medical and consistent.

Go deeper with our recent “Impact of Weight Loss Drugs 2025” report for more. 

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