Eli Lilly weight loss drug data cause drop in sleep apnea treatment stocks

By market close Monday, shares of ResMed fell by over 12% in one day, its largest decline since last August. Inspire Medical Systems, which makes an implanted medical device to treat sleep apnea, also fell by nearly 19% by market close.

Eli Lilly sells tirzepatide under the name Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. The drug is part of the new GLP-1 drug class that has had significant results in lowering cardiovascular disease risk, with a similar function as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, respectively.

Both obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are comorbidities for sleep apnea. Medical experts estimate sleep apnea affects 20 million Americans and nearly 936 million people worldwide, but the disorder is severely underdiagnosed.

Obstructed sleep apnea occurs when a patient’s airway is blocked, preventing the person from breathing while asleep and causing the patient’s blood-oxygen level to drop. These apneic episodes trigger a “survival reflex” in the brain, waking the patient in order to respond to the emergency and breathe.

Johns Hopkins Medicine defines the disorder as having at least five apneic episodes per hour that last 10 seconds each. Mild OSA consists of 5-15 apneic episodes per hour, while more than 15 episodes are considered moderate, and those with greater than 30 are severe.

Patients with severe sleep apnea can have hundreds of episodes in one night, increasing the patient’s risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes.

Two separate clinical trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday reported that patients using tirzepatide entirely eliminated sleep apnea in 43% and 51.1% of patients respectively.

Atul Malhotra, the lead author of the study and a professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, said the drug could revolutionize treatment of OSA because it is much more accessible than current machines or device-based interventions, which depend on consistent use.

“It means we can offer an innovative solution, signifying hope and a new standard of care to provide relief to countless individuals and their families,” said Malhotra. “This breakthrough opens the door to a new era of OSA management for people diagnosed with obesity, potentially transforming how we approach and treat this pervasive condition on a global scale.”

Malhotra also said that tirzepatide is beneficial because it targets the root causes of the disorder rather than solely symptoms.

A ResMed spokesperson told the Washington Examiner following publication that the trial was not intended to compare the use of tirzepatide to CPAP machines but the data “underscores the importance of the conversations needed between patients and healthcare providers about weight management and sleep apnea.”

“We believe that the availability of additional treatment modalities for sleep-disordered breathing, coupled with obesity, will drive more of the 1 billion people worldwide who are living with sleep apnea and not yet diagnosed into the healthcare system for diagnosis and treatment,” the ResMed spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Inspire told the Washington Examiner that the company’s implant product is designed for patients who cannot tolerate traditional CPAP machines, but some patients do not qualify for use of their product due to high body mass index.

“We view GLP-1s a good tool to help patients lose weight and become eligible for Inspire therapy,” the Inspire spokesperson said.

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According to data from the discount prescription company GoodRx, both Mounjaro and Zepbound cost over $1,000 for a monthly dose.

As of last month, one in eight people had used Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, or Wegovy.

This story has been updated with additional comment.