What to expect from Obesity Week 2025: Key trends shaping the future of obesity care

Authored by: Varun Renjen, Lisa Gallacher, and Brandon Boland

How Inizio experts see the next era of obesity care – and what it means for pharma leadership. 

As obesity science continues to evolve, so too does the opportunity for pharma to lead with purpose. Obesity Week 2025 will spotlight this evolution – showcasing how obesity has moved beyond weight loss alone to become a driver of cardiometabolic health. 

For Inizio experts Varun Renjen (Partner, Inizio Advisory), Lisa Gallacher (SVP, European Science Lead, Inizio Medical), and Brandon Boland (EVP, Global Biotechnology Portfolio Lead, Inizio Medical), leadership in this fast-changing field means connecting strategy, science, and execution to deliver purposeful progress. 

“Obesity has broken out of the shadows of other conferences where it was often an after-thought”,” says Varun Renjen. “This is probably going to be the most relevant conference moving forward for obesity.” 

Obesity in the spotlight: From niche to necessity 

Once a sub-track at diabetes meetings, Obesity Week has become the premier global congress for this fast-moving therapeutic area. 

“It has eclipsed ENDO in priority for our clients,” explains Brandon Boland. “Obesity Week puts obesity in the spotlight.” 

That prominence reflects a therapeutic area maturing at pace. Conversations are shifting toward the quality of weight loss versus quantity, the impact on comorbidities, and how new treatment paradigms can deliver sustained outcomes.  

“The co-morbidities aspect is key,” adds Lisa Gallacher. “We’re learning more about how obesity therapies can support broader health outcomes – including inflammation, cardiovascular function, and even cognitive health – alongside weight management.” 

Evolving science, evolving strategy 

As new drug classes expand the landscape – GLP-1s, amylins, dual and multi-agonists – precision medicine and patient segmentation are shaping the next frontier of obesity care. 

“The big question is how do we treat such a heterogenous disease within such a large population,” says Varun. “Some will respond better to GLP-1s, others to amylin or dual agonists… a post-menopausal woman will have different clinical needs than a younger man in his 20s. We need to be able to triangulate patient populations and be able to treat more precisely across the whole treatment journey continuum.” 

Pharma organizations are also recalibrating commercial strategies around these scientific shifts. 

“Clients are vying for patients, trial sites, and share of voice,” says Brandon. “Obesity Week is a chance to gain stature with experts and capture key resources – awareness, asset differentiation, and competitive intelligence all matter.” 

Navigating a crowded market with purpose 

The obesity market could exceed $100 billion within the decade, but growth brings challenges. Regulatory uncertainty, payer access, and biosimilar pressure are all influencing development and launch decisions. 

“There’s regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.,” explains Brandon Boland. “Physicians are balancing how best to integrate weight management and comorbidity care to support overall health and quality of life while maintaining therapy access for their patients.”  

“Given how much spend and market demand is anticipated, access will become more challenging,” adds Varun. “But there are creative ways to navigate this through thoughtful portfolio, development, and commercial go to market strategies to ensure a patient can access therapy.” 

At Inizio, we help clients simplify this complexity – bringing clarity and cohesion across the full product lifecycle. Our connected approach unites Medical Affairs, strategy, engagement, and technology, enabling teams to move from science to impact. 

“It’s about agility in execution,” says Brandon. “Helping clients focus on the mandatories and not get distracted by the noise.” 

From obesity to cardiometabolic health 

The field’s very definition is expanding. 

“The term obesity might evolve over time to cardiometabolic dysfunction,” says Varun. “Treating obesity supports the body from head to toe through one pathway – approvals in kidney, liver, sleep, and even dementia show how interconnected these systems are. Obesity is a complex disease that requires more than a focus on weight reduction – it’s about improving overall metabolic health, as well as preventing and slowing down end organ damage. This is a change of how we think of treating patients not just as treating one disease or one organ but treating the whole patient.” 

That shift is echoed across industry communications and R&D focus areas. 

“It’s becoming beyond obesity,” adds Lisa. “Clients are reframing around cardio-kidney-metabolic health and other comorbidities. That’s where the conversation is heading.” 

And new therapeutic innovations will accelerate it. 

“Very soon, multi-agonists will eclipse monotherapies,” predicts Brandon. “Clients need to keep a portfolio approach and not neglect the comorbidities.” 

Turning strategy into impact 

For Inizio, supporting clients in obesity means helping them anticipate the future – and act on it now. 

“We bring full end-to-end development, medical, and commercialization expertise,” says Varun. “And a unified vision of how to own the patient journey across the treatment continuum.” 

Whether it’s building purposeful portfolios or shaping the narrative from obesity to cardiometabolic health, Inizio partners to deliver measurable progress. Through Intelligent Commercialization™ – our expert-driven framework connecting data, technology, and AI – we help clients turn scientific innovation into scalable, lasting impact.  

As the industry gathers at Obesity Week 2025, we’ll be at booth 812, ready to connect with partners and peers who share our vision of turning science into impact – simplifying complexity, amplifying purpose, and helping clients lead where it matters most. 

Get in touch to meet with us at the event or learn more about how we deliver impact across obesity and cardiometabolic health here.