Novo Nordisk says its weight loss drug Wegovy can cut risk of heart attack by 20%

Leading Danish pharma firm Novo Nordisk has claimed that its bestselling obesity drug Wegovy can cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or heart-related death by 20 per cent.

The firm claimed that the clinical study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, has proved that its drug has medical benefits beyond weight reduction.

The clinical trial was conducted on 17,604 adults, aged 45 or older, with heart disease and obesity or who were overweight, but who didn’t have diabetes under a five-year trial called “Select”.

The test involved studying Wegovy against a placebo in addition to the standard of care for the prevention of major adverse cardiac events.

The find of a 20 per cent reduction in heart risk is higher than many experts’ prediction of 15-17 per cent, Reuters news agency reported.

Novo’s shares surged as much as 16 per cent after the publication of the study.

High expectations

A similar trial for the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, which uses the same ingredient, semaglutide, previously showed it could reduce cardiovascular risk by 26 per cent, however, no trial study was shared to authenticate the claim.

It is being argued that once the Wegovy findings are peer-reviewed and published in a medical journal, more doctors would be encouraged to prescribe the drug, which is currently being sold as a lifestyle drug.

US law classifies weight-loss treatments as lifestyle drugs and bars the Medicare health plan for older Americans from covering them.

'Landmark trial'

Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president for development Martin Holst Lange in a statement said that the trial “has demonstrated that semaglutide 2.4mg has the potential to change how obesity is regarded and treated.”

Lange said that until now there had been no approved weight management drug that also reduced the risk of heart attack or stroke.

It was a “landmark trial” that demonstrated the drug had “the potential to change how obesity is regarded and treated”, he said.

Novo expects to file for regulatory approvals of a label indication expansion for the weekly injection in the US and European Union this year.

According to Reuters, the detailed results of the trial will be presented at a scientific conference later in 2023. Analysts will be seeking more detail with Novo's second-quarter results on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE