Weight-loss drugs are bad news for medtech makers, Barron’s says

The weight-loss drugs called GLP-1s are producing some of the market’s biggest losers, namely investors in companies that treat obesity complications, Bill Alpert writes in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Forecasts for hundreds of billions in sales have made Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) the two most valuable pharma companies on the planet-their shares mobbed by those convinced that GLP-1s will save the world from epidemic obesity. Outside the GLP-1 revels, their echo casts gloom over shares of businesses that grew with America’s waistlines, the author says. Insulin-pump makers Insulet (PODD) and Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM) are down 40% and 50% this year, respectively, while the glucose monitor leader DexCom (DXCM) has lost 16%. ResMed (RMD) dominates the devices called “CPAP” machines that treat sleep apnea. Its stock is off 30%. Inspire Medical Systems (INSP) sells another sleep apnea device, and its shares have dropped 18%. Liver-disease drug developer Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL) is down 40%.