Government asks Conitec to include weight-loss pens in SUS

The Ministry of Health (MS) filed on Thursday (24) the request to the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies in the Unified Health System (Conitec) for the inclusion of slimming pens (GLP-1) in the roll of drugs offered by the Unified Health System (SUS).

The folder argued that the number of patients with obesity grew from 11.8% in 2006 to 25.7% in 2024. This increase would require a need for long-term follow-up and treatment, with impacts on the reduction of mortality, quality of life of patients and also on the expenditures of the health system.

The treatment of long-term obesity with slimming pens and the preparation of health systems to do so are supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. The organization understands that without deliberate policies, access to these therapies can exacerbate existing health disparities.

The ministry also highlighted that, with the expansion of competition, there was a 70% reduction in the costs of this drug in Brazil in less than a year. In August, Conitec had rejected the inclusion of this type of product justifying the high financial impact. But, according to MS, the scenario has changed.

“To date, 25 slimming pens have been registered in the country, 14 of them in 2026, as a direct result of the Ministry’s and Anvisa’s development strategy, including versions produced nationally and generic medicines. And new records are still expected. The expansion of competition has made Brazil the country with the largest variety of product in the world and has brought down retail prices,” he said in a statement.

According to the ministry, a possible incorporation of the drug into the SUS will be accompanied by criteria for access to GLP-1 treatment. The use will be in patients in which the control of obesity can produce relevant health benefits and reduce complications or the need for procedures of greater complexity.

In an agenda with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, last week in Minas Gerais, the Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, had addressed the issue. Speaking of the recent cost reduction of this drug, he stated that the slimming pens will be used “responsibly” in the SUS.

“What was costing R$ 1,700, R$ 2,000, is already between R$ 300 and R$ 400 in the pharmacy, increasing access. That helps a lot of people already. But we want something else: to put this medication in the SUS as a right. And we will do it responsibly.”

Conitec

Conitec was created in 2011 and is the body responsible for the constitution or amendment of clinical protocols and therapeutic health guidelines. After public consultation, the contributions are organized and inserted in the technical reports for analysis by the members of the college, who issue the final recommendation on the medicine or technology evaluated.