In Obesity Care, NPs and PAs Are the Influencers Marketers Can’t Ignore

The obesity treatment market is expanding at an unprecedented pace. According to IQVIA’s 2025 outlook, anti-obesity medications are among the fastest-growing therapeutic areas worldwide.

Morgan Stanley projects that the global weight-loss drug market could reach $150 billion over the next decade, reflecting both groundbreaking innovation and rising patient demand. Yet, while the science is advancing, many life sciences companies still rely on a traditional engagement playbook: focusing primarily on physicians and overlooking the growing influence of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician associates (PAs) in obesity care.

This surge reflects the impact of breakthrough medications that could benefit more than one billion people worldwide. What has not changed, however, is the traditional playbook many life sciences marketers still follow, one that centers almost entirely on physicians.

Physicians remain vital in obesity care, but they are not the full picture. NPs and PAs are increasingly central to how treatment is delivered. In obesity care especially, overlooking these prescribers means overlooking where a growing share of prescriptions are written.

The Prescribing Power Shift

NPs and PAs receive only a fraction of the marketing attention directed at physicians, yet they are seeing nearly half of all U.S. patients and write more than one-third of prescriptions overall, according to POCN/IQVIA data.

In obesity care specifically, they now account for nearly one-quarter of all prescriptions, a share that has more than doubled since 2017. This growth underscores how frontline prescribers are shaping treatment decisions in ways brand strategies can no longer afford to overlook.

Two dynamics explain this shift.

• First, as frontline providers, NPs and PAs have frequent and influential contact with patients across clinics, primary care practices, and telehealth platforms.
• Second, patients influenced by direct-to-consumer awareness are initiating more conversations about obesity therapies and often beginning their treatment journey with these clinicians.

According to IQVIA, monthly obesity prescriptions in the U.S. had already exceeded 1.5 million by early 2024, underscoring how patient demand is reshaping the frontlines of care.

The Marketing Mismatch

Despite this data, brand campaigns often continue to focus on physicians. The gap between marketing investment and NP/PA prescribing volume represents an underserved opportunity.

Marketers can reach this trusted and growing base of prescribers by addressing challenges specific to NPs and PAs, including education in obesity care, concerns about medication safety, and barriers around cost and coverage.

However, it is not just what marketers say, but how and where they say it. NPs and PAs have distinct information needs, workflows, and educational preferences:

• Peer learning: More than 80% prefer education from peers, making NP and PA thought leaders essential to credible messaging.
• Digital-first: As digital-first providers, they often seek on-demand, clinically relevant content in online education formats.
• Multi-touch engagement: They respond best to ongoing, multi-touch strategies rather than one-off engagements.
• Right networks: Marketers are most effective when they engage NPs and PAs within the trusted professional networks where these clinicians already learn and connect.

Giving NPs and PAs what they need

Marketers can close this gap by rethinking how they identify, understand, and engage NPs and PAs. Expanding ambassador-led programs, tailoring education to obesity care, and providing resources that build prescribing confidence are practical ways to support these clinicians.

With the right approach, brands can help NPs and PAs feel better equipped in patient care while building meaningful professional relationships.As the obesity market grows, the organizations that understand and invest in these frontline prescribers will be the ones staying relevant in the years ahead.

About the Author

Deb Nevins is director of Product Strategy at POCN Group, an IQVIA business specializing in NP/PA channel strategy and engagement. The organization combines verified NP and PA identity, behavioral and attitudinal insight, and peer-led education to help healthcare companies identify, understand, and engage these clinicians with precision and credibility. Drawing on over a decade of NP/PA expertise, POCN Group translates real-world clinician behavior and mindset into actionable brand strategy, compliant activation, and measurable impact across the product lifecycle.