Still
life
of
Wegovy
an
injectable
prescription
weight
loss
medicine
that
has
helped
people
with
obesity.
It
should
be
used
with
a
weight
loss
plan
and
physical
activity.
Michael
Siluk
|
UCG
|
Getty
Images
Novo
Nordisk’s
Wegovy
cut
the
risk
of
serious
cardiovascular
complications
in
people
with
obesity
and
heart
disease
in
a
closely
watched
trial,
demonstrating
a
particularly
large
effect
on
heart
attacks,
a
promising
new
frontier
for
the
drug.
The
roughly
17,500-person
Select
study
tested
Wegovy
in
people
with
obesity
and
heart
disease
but
who
did
not
have
diabetes.
Weekly
injections
of
Wegovy
slashed
the
overall
risk
of
heart
attack,
stroke
and
death
from
cardiovascular
causes
by
20%,
according
to
detailed
results
from
the
trial
presented
Saturday
at
the
American
Heart
Association
Scientific
Sessions
and
simultaneously
published
in
the
New
England
Journal
of
Medicine.
Novo
Nordisk
disclosed
topline
data
from
the
study
in
August.
The
findings
could
expand
insurance
coverage
of
Wegovy,
a
major
barrier
thus
far
for
the
drug
and
similar
GLP-1
agonists,
and
spur
broader
use
of
the
anti-obesity
drug.
“This
is
the
first
time
that
medication
approved
for
chronic
obesity
management
can
be
considered
life
saving,”
said
Dr.
Robert
Kushner,
a
professor
of
medicine
in
endocrinology
at
the
Northwestern
University
Feinberg
School
of
Medicine
who
was
involved
with
the
study.
The
new
data
could
also
help
the
Danish
pharmaceutical
company
maintain
its
lead
over
Eli
Lilly,
whose
competing
weight-loss
drug
Zepbound
was
approved
in
the
U.S.
earlier
this
week. Zepbound
has
been
shown
to
help
people
lose
more
weight,
but
it
hasn’t
yet
demonstrated
an
effect
on
cardiovascular
outcomes.
“If
you
look
at
where
the
insurance
companies
are
going
to
be
obliged
to
go,
they’re
going
to
be
obliged
to
go
with
the
drug
that
reduces
cardiovascular
events,”
said
Dr.
Howard
Weintraub,
clinical
director
of
the
Center
for
the
Prevention
of
Cardiovascular
Disease
at
NYU
Langone
Heart
who
was
involved
with
the
study.
Trial
results
Wegovy
reduced
the
risk
of
non-fatal
heart
attack
by
28%
in
the
five-year
trial.
It
produced
a
smaller
7%
reduction
in
the
occurrence
of
non-fatal
stroke,
though
few
strokes
were
seen
in
the
trial
overall.
What’s
more,
Wegovy
started
to
show
a
reduction
in
overall
cardiovascular
events
within
months
of
participants
starting
the
drug,
with
the
difference
between
the
drug
and
placebo
widening
as
the
study
continued.
Researchers
observed
that
effect
even
before
people
lost
significant
weight,
a
“fascinating”
finding
that
suggests
both
weight
loss
and
the
drug
itself
could
be
playing
a
role
in
heart
health,
said
Dr.
Ania
Jastreboff,
director
of
the
Yale
Obesity
Research
Center.
“I
think
it’s
all
additive,
and
I
don’t
think
we
can
parse
out
one
from
the
other,”
Jastreboff,
who
was
not
involved
in
the
study,
said
at
a
press
briefing.
About
two-thirds
of
participants
had
blood
sugar
levels
that
put
them
in
the
range
of
prediabetes.
Wegovy
decreased
progression
to
diabetes
by
73%,
suggesting
the
drug
could
be
used
as
an
early
treatment.
Novo’s
Ozempic,
which
uses
the
same
active
ingredient
as
Wegovy,
is
approved
for
diabetes.
The
study
enrolled
both
patients
whose
body-mass
index
met
the
threshold
for
overweight
or
obesity,
though
most
of
the
patients
were
considered
obese.
Side
effects
and
limitations
Almost
17%
of
people
receiving
Wegovy
in
the
trial
stopped
taking
the
drug,
mainly
because
of
gastrointestinal
issues
like
vomiting
and
diarrhea,
double
the
rate
of
people
who
discontinued
the
placebo.
But
more
people
in
the
control
group
experienced
serious
adverse
events
such
as
cardiac
disorders
and
medical
procedures.
The
discontinuations
may
reflect
less
familiarity
with
Wegovy
among
doctors
involved
in
the
study,
said
Kushner,
who
specializes
in
caring
for
patients
who
are
overweight
or
have
obesity.
Adjusting
the
dosage
or
tweaking
diet
can
help
people
navigate
unpleasant
side
effects.
Participants
also
lost
less
weight
in
this
study
than
previous
ones
examining
Wegovy,
though
this
study
didn’t
incorporate
lifestyle
changes
and
it
enrolled
people
with
different
characteristics.
One
limitation
of
the
study
was
its
lack
of
diversity.
Nearly
three-quarters
of
the
participants
were
male,
and
even
more
were
white.
Just
about
4%
of
participants
were
Black.
Regardless,
doctors
expect
the
results
to
increase
the
number
of
people
who
take
Wegovy.
Seeing
a
diabetes
drug
producing
positive
cardiovascular
and
metabolic
effects
“opens
a
new
door
to
treat
obese
patients
with
cardiovascular
disease,”
said
Dr.
George
Dangas,
director
of
cardiovascular
innovation
for
Mount
Sinai
Hospital.
But
it
could
take
time
and
energy
to
incorporate
it
into
clinical
practice.
“Those
are
good
problems
to
have,”
Dangas
said.
“We
have
something
good
for
the
patient,
that’s
great.”
—
CNBC’s
Patrick
Manning
contributed
to
this
report.
CORRECTION:
This
article
has
been
updated
to
correct
the
title
of
Dr.
George
Dangas,
director
of
cardiovascular
innovation
for
Mount
Sinai
Hospital.
