Hello, my name is Agustin Mohedas. I’m a portfolio manager and biotechnology analyst at Janus Henderson Investors.

I’ve been travelling throughout Asia for the last week, visiting Seoul, Hong Kong and now Singapore. And what I’ve noticed is a shared love of food throughout these cultures, in particular unhealthy but affordable and really delicious street food, some of which I had last night at a local Hawker centre here in Singapore.

Now, unfortunately, the availability of unhealthy food throughout the world has led to a worldwide obesity epidemic that is actually affecting hundreds of millions of people per year.

Obesity places people at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, as well as diabetes and even cancer. In fact, half of the people in the world living with diabetes live right here in Asia, and cardiovascular disease has become a leading cause of death in Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore. Unfortunately, the obesity problem is probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Right now, we are seeing the launch of a new class of medicines that can make a meaningful impact on the obesity epidemic. These medicines, called GLP-1 agonists, are the first medicines to demonstrate up to 25% weight loss, and they’ve also shown an ability to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and death by up to 20%.^1,2 We believe obesity could represent a $100 billion market opportunity, potentially becoming the largest pharmaceutical market by 2030. This creates really meaningful opportunities for investments and the potential to generate significant returns.

We are seeing accelerating innovation in the obesity space. And at Janus Henderson Investors we are constantly searching for the next generation of therapies and that next opportunity that can benefit both patients and our investors alike.

¹ Eli Lily & Co., 8 November 2023

² Novo Nordisk, 8 August 2023