Aug. 8, 2023 – Issues within the coronary heart and blood vessels reminiscent of coronary heart assaults and strokes have been lowered 20% amongst sufferers taking the favored however costly weight reduction drug Wegovy, in keeping with a trial of greater than 17,000 folks with chubby or weight problems who additionally had heart problems.
The discovering ought to gas improved affected person entry to this drug, a weight reduction agent that has traditionally been hindered by skepticism amongst U.S. medical insurance firms who now might even see broader well being advantages than simply the therapy of chubby and weight problems.
Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk launched the research outcomes this morning. The research discovered that individuals who obtained 2.4-milligram pictures of semaglutide (whose model identify is Wegovy) confirmed a big 20% discount in heart-related deaths, coronary heart assaults, or strokes.
The corporate stated semaglutide therapy additionally considerably lowered how usually every of those points occurred.
The outcomes additionally confirmed a stage of security and affected person tolerance for weekly pictures that have been in line with prior stories. The FDA permitted semaglutide as Wegovy in 2021 for weight reduction, and as Ozempic, with a most dose of two.0 milligrams, for blood sugar management in folks with kind 2 diabetes. Semaglutide belongs to a category of medicine referred to as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists.
‘A Good Consequence for Sufferers’
“The highest line outcomes … are thrilling as stopping coronary heart assaults and stroke with a drug that additionally lowers weight is essential for a lot of sufferers, particularly if the info additionally present, as I believe they may, a significant enchancment of high quality of life for sufferers as a consequence of related weight reduction,” stated Naveed Sattar, PhD, a professor of metabolic medication on the College of Glasgow in Scotland who was not concerned with the research.
“It is a good outcome for sufferers,” stated Sattar, who additionally famous that “we have no idea to what extent the load loss results of semaglutide, versus its different direct results on blood vessels or the guts, account for the 20% discount in cardiovascular occasions, and extra information are wanted to attempt to work this out.”
Regardless of this lack of readability over the function weight reduction itself performed in driving the outcomes, the findings problem a long-standing prejudice in opposition to the medical necessity and security of weight reduction medication when used for the only level of serving to folks shed pounds.
Altering How Weight problems Is Regarded
“So far, there aren’t any permitted weight administration drugs confirmed to ship efficient weight administration whereas additionally lowering the chance of coronary heart assault, stroke or cardiovascular demise,” Martin Holst Lange, MD, PhD, govt vp for growth at Novo Nordisk, stated within the firm’s information launch.
A number of of the early medical choices for aiding weight reduction had substantial opposed results, together with elevated main points within the coronary heart and blood vessels, a historical past that led to a number of warning amongst docs over the protection of anti-obesity brokers and the knowledge of utilizing medically aided weight reduction to supply well being advantages.
This perspective additionally helped dampen medical insurance protection of weight reduction remedies. For instance, Medicare has a long-standing coverage in opposition to reimbursing the price of drugs which can be used for weight reduction, and a 2003 federal regulation prohibited Half D plans from offering this protection.
Based on the Novo Nordisk announcement, there can be a full report on outcomes from the trial at a scientific assembly later this 12 months.
