Boxes of Wegovy manufactured by Novo Nordisk are seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain, March 8, 2024.
Hollie Adams | Reuters
Patients taking Novo NordiskWegovy, ‘s obesity drug, maintained an average weight loss of 10% over four years, according to a new analysis released Tuesday from the longest clinical trial of the treatment to date.
This popular drug also reduces the risk of heart disease, regardless of a patient’s weight, according to a second analysis of the same trial. Both analyzes were presented this week at the European Obesity Congress in Venice.
The findings highlight the long-term effects of Wegovy and add to growing evidence of the weekly injection’s broad health benefits. That could strengthen Novo Nordisk’s case with insurers and governments to cover the expensive but effective drug.
Insurance coverage is limited for Wegovy, which is part of a class of drugs called GLP-1. These obesity and diabetes treatments have gained popularity in the past year and work by mimicking a hormone produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite. Neither Novo Nordisk nor Elie Lillywhich has its own weight loss drug, has been able to produce enough products to meet the insatiable demand for its treatments.
Both analyzes build on data released in November from Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial. The results of this trial showed that Wegovy reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious cardiovascular complications by 20% in people who were obese or overweight and also had cardiovascular disease.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy for this purpose in March.
The SELECT trial, which included more than 17,000 patients in more than 40 countries, tested Wegovy for its cardiovascular benefits.
Participants were not required to follow their diet and exercise because this was not an obesity study. Patients in the trial lost about 10% of their total body weight on average after 65 weeks of treatment with Wegovy, according to the first analysis published in the journal Nature.
Patients continued to take the medication weekly for a period of three years and four months and maintained their weight loss for four years. Other research has shown that many people regain weight after stopping medication.
The second analysis showed that patients in the study experienced the cardiac benefits of Wegovy, regardless of their weight at the start of treatment and regardless of how much weight they lost with the drug.
For example, the reduced risk of serious cardiovascular events in people taking Wegovy, compared to placebo, was similar among people who lost 5% or more of their body weight, those who lost less than that, or even those who gained weight. weight.
The results suggest that Wegovy helps improve a patient’s heart health through methods beyond weight loss, the study authors concluded.
Notably, the weight loss in the trial was lower than the average weight loss of 15% observed in an earlier study of Wegovy’s effect on obesity.
But researchers in the first analysis noted that the previous study was designed specifically for weight loss and included structured lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise. The population followed by the study was also different from that of the SELECT trial.
Safety results from both analyzes were consistent with previous data from the SELECT trial. More people taking Wegovy than people who received a placebo decided to stop participating in the trial due to side effects.
Patients also experienced side effects comparable to other GLP-1 medications, such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation.
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