Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have asked the federal government to list their blockbuster weight-loss drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, arguing funding the treatment will reduce a costly obesity crisis.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, used a submission to the government’s budget process to push for the inclusion of so-called GLP-1 drugs on the PBS for chronic weight management. It said not doing so would be more expensive in the long term.