Novo Nordisk study sees Wegovy lowering heart attacks by 1.5 million over 10 years

The popular weight loss drug Wegovy could prevent as many as 1.5 million heart attacks in the United States over the next 10 years, according to new research from scientists at the University of California, Irvine.

“It is one of the biggest advances in the obesity and cardiovascular medicine world,” said Nathan Wong, the lead author of the study and director of the Heart Disease Prevention Program at UCI School of Medicine. “We now have a weight control therapy that also significantly reduces cardiovascular events beyond the diabetes population where it was originally studied.”

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The California researchers based their findings on a 2021 study of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, that demonstrated obese or overweight patients lost almost 15% of their body weight while on the drug.

The study estimated that 93 million U.S. adults who are obese or overweight would qualify for a semaglutide treatment over the next 10 years and that Wegovy could lower the number of obese patients by as much as 43 million.

Extrapolating from this data, researchers estimated that the decrease in the obese population would reduce cardiovascular disease by a factor of 18%, potentially preventing 1.5 million cardiovascular incidents.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of semaglutide, financially supported the UCI study, according to the research funding disclosure statement.

The results of the UCI study, however, come on the heels of independent research published earlier this month. The worldwide, multiyear study conducted by the research firm SELECT showed that patients on Wegovy were 20% less likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events, such as strokes or heart attacks.

Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development at Novo, called the worldwide study “a landmark trial and has demonstrated that semaglutide 2.4 mg has the potential to change how obesity is regarded and treated.”

The Danish pharmaceutical giant has made a splash this year with both of its semaglutide products: Wegovy, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss at a 2.4 mg dose, and Ozempic, FDA approved for insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes, with a semaglutide dose ranging between 0.5 mg and 2 mg.

A second quarter earnings report for Novo showed that the company topped $3.5 billion in profit, with sales being 3% higher than anticipated earlier this year.

Health regulatory boards for the European Union and the United Kingdom are investigating semaglutide and other similar medications for the possible risk of suicidal or self-harm thoughts, which are not listed as side effects of either Wegovy or Ozempic.

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A lawsuit was also filed this month against Novo and U.S.-based competitor Eli Lilly for stomach paralysis caused by both Ozempic and Lilly’s Mounjaro, also used for treating Type 2 diabetes.

Both Novo and Lilly previously told the Washington Examiner that they take matters regarding patient safety very seriously.