United States: On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy, which is a crucial step in heaving obesity and heart concerns among heart patients.
The given approval submits the manufacturer of this celebrity drug and reveals the potential of it to reduce the possibility of cardiovascular disease at the same time.
The newly approved injectable medication Wegovy has already been used by millions worldwide. The recent guidelines will facilitate more individuals’ access to health insurance for this expensive obesity drug, overcoming a significant barrier that previously hindered people from accessing this treatment, as CNBC News reported.
Weight-loss drugs with great health benefits – Experts
In addition, the approval proves that weight loss medicines are more than simple sugar-regulating agents and are of great importance on the grounds of health repercussions.
The participants who received weekly injections of Wegovy witnessed a significant decrease in the overall risk of cardiovascular disorders such as heart attack, stroke, and death by 20 percent, as per the findings of a revolutionary late-stage clinical trial conducted on the medicine.
Wegovy has now become the first and only weight loss drug to get expanded approval for the specific purpose of use, following the statement of Dr. John Sharretts, Director of the Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Statements about the drug from the FDA
Dr Sharretts observed that adults with obesity and heart disease are at greater risk for cardiovascular complications, so offering a treatment result that lowers that risk “is a major advance for public health.”
The FDA also noted that Wegovy users should use It as an addition to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
Wegovy and other weight-loss drugs in demand
Both Wegovy and its lower-dose diabetes counterpart, Ozempic, suddenly became highly sought after in 2022 and faced shortages as patients looked to them for the ability to help them lose significant amounts of weight over time.
They belong to the class of drugs that are similar in actions to the hormone GLP-1 produced in the intestinal tract of those suppressing one’s appetite. Treatment with Wegovy or Ozempic costs around $1,000 per month before the insurance benefit.
Novo Nordisk stated on Friday that the approval represents a “pivotal step forward in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time,” as CNBC News reported.
Wegovy medication decreased the incidence of a non-fatal heart attack to 28 percent during the five-year research period. On the good side, it featured a smaller 7 percent risk reduction for stroke compared to the placebo everybody received, although only a few strokes were observed in the trial as a whole.
Wegovy showed a decrease in total cardiovascular events just about months after participants began to take the drug. As the study progressed, there was a noticeable gap between the drug cure and the placebo.
About 17 percent of the Wegovy users who were enrolled in the clinical trials stopped taking medication mainly due to bowel-related issues like vomiting and diarrhea. That is twice as fast as those who stopped the placebo.