Dialysis Firm Sees ‘Balanced’ Impact From GLP-1 Drugs

(Reuters) – The world’s leading dialysis provider Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) sees a “balanced” impact of the GLP-1 diabetes and weight-loss drugs on its patients, Chief Executive Helen Giza said during a post-earnings report call on Thursday.

“Based on the limited information available today, we come to the conclusion that the effects would be rather balanced on our patient population development in the long run,” – Giza said.

“Multiple independent experts in this field are of the opinion that it may take at least a decade before we could fully observe the effects and impact from GLP-1 on our patient populations,” – she added.

Shares in FMC were flat throughout the day but rose to 2% by 1630 GMT after the call ended.

Dialysis companies have come under pressure as studies show that new GLP-1 diabetes and weight-loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, can slow down the progression of kidney disease.

The dialysis market has for decades been sustained by high rates of obesity and diabetes, which contribute to kidney damage.

Some analysts have said the market reaction might be overdone due to a still low number of people taking GLP-1 drugs among FMC patients.

FMC late on Wednesday raised its annual outlook for operating earnings as turnaround measures helped the German kidney dialysis specialist save cash while sales continued to grow organically in the third quarter.

The group now expects its adjusted operating income to grow at a low single-digit percentage rate this year, after previously guiding for it to remain flat or fall by up to a low single-digit percentage.

Its adjusted operating income grew by 14% to 431 million euros ($457.59 million) in the July-September period, above a Vara Research consensus of 405 million euros.

($1 = 0.9419 euro)

(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, additional reporting by Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt; editing by Milla Nissi and Jonathan Oatis)