Wegovy, a weight-loss drug from Novo Nordisk, also helps prevent heart attacks and stroke in people at high risk, according to a company news release.
The trial of more than 17,000 adults 45 and older with obesity or overweight showed a 20% reduction in first heart attack, stroke or death from a cardiovascular event. Participants were given weekly injections of 2.4 mg of the drug semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, or a placebo, for as long as five years.
The results, released [August 8], have not yet been peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal, and the Danish pharmaceutical company only provided limited information.
Doctors who treat patients with obesity were thrilled by the report, which is the first to show a major health benefit for a class of drugs first approved to treat people with diabetes.
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“Obesity treatment is far more than about weight loss. It’s about health improvement. It’s about extending life,” said Dr. Michael Albert, an obesity specialist in Oklahoma who runs a telehealth medical practice called Accomplish Health. “I think we’ll look back and see this was a watershed moment (in the treatment of obesity).”
