‘Game-changing’ weight loss jab Wegovy also cuts risk of heart attack or stroke by fifth, study suggests
WEIGHT loss jabs can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke in obese people with cardiovascular disease by a fifth, researchers claim.
Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk conducted a five-year study of semaglutide, which is sold as Wegovy.
As part of its Select trial, the company recruited 17,604 adults over the age of 45 from across 41 countries.
Each patient had a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or over and established cardiovascular disease, with no history of diabetes.
Researchers found that the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients given a 2.4mg once-weekly dose of Wegovy, alongside standard care for the prevention of heart attacks or stroke, reduced by 20 per cent compared with those given a placebo drug.
Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for development at Novo Nordisk, said: "People living with obesity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
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"But to date, there are no approved weight management medications proven to deliver effective weight management while also reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death.
"Therefore, we are very excited about the results from Select showing that semaglutide 2.4mg reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.
"Select is a landmark trial and has demonstrated that semaglutide 2.4mg has the potential to change how obesity is regarded and treated."
Novo Nordisk said it expects to file for regulatory approvals of a label indication expansion for Wegovy in the US and the EU in 2023.
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Professor Stephen O'Rahilly, director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit at the Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, said the results "have been long awaited and do not disappoint".
He added: "Simply put, a drug which acts to reduce body weight by targeting appetite, if taken long term by people who are overweight or obese, significantly reduces their risk of serious cardiovascular events, such as heart attack.
"The obvious conclusion of these findings is that we should view obesity as a medical condition, like high blood pressure, where effective and safe drug therapy can contribute to reducing serious adverse health outcomes."
The results come after experts suggested that obese people on weight loss jabs should be prepared to take them for life.
Earlier this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended the use of Wegovy for adults with a BMI of at least 35 and one weight-related health condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
The regulator said it should not be taken for more than two years, but studies show that people who stop weight loss jabs, such as Wegovy, can regain much of the weight they have lost.
A team of obesity experts argue Nice guidance is largely based on the cost of the drugs and that people who take them should be prepared to take them long term for treating their disease.
'EXCITING' RESULTS
John Wilding, a professor of medicine who leads clinical research into obesity, diabetes and endocrinology at the University of Liverpool, said: "We do have to think about these medicines as long-term medications despite the fact that, for Nice at the moment, it's only two years of treatment.
"We do know that obesity is a chronic disease and we would never think of just giving somebody a diabetes drug or blood pressure drug for two years and then stopping it because, of course, at that point the disease will recur.
"We know that happens with obesity.
"So, I do think we have to think about this as long-term treatment and that's something that is yet to be addressed from a policy perspective."
Semaglutide is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk shed the pounds.
It works by suppressing the appetite — mimicking a naturally occurring hormone that is released after eating.
As a result patients feel fuller for longer, and reduce the number of calories they eat.
Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson has hailed the drug “genuinely incredible” after using it to ward off type 2 diabetes, saying it had a huge impact on his appetite.
“I can open the fridge, where there’s half a chicken and a juicy bottle of rose, and I want neither,” he wrote in the Sunday Times.
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But semaglutide can come with a range of side effects, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Other rare complications include gallbladder problems, kidney failure, serious allergic reaction and depression.
What is semaglutide?
SEMAGLUTIDE, sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, is a drug originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes and as an anti-obesity medication used for long-term weight management.
They work by suppressing the appetite - mimicking a naturally occurring hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, which is usually released after eating.
As a result patients feel fuller for longer, and reduce the number of calories they eat.
Side effects can include sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Other rare complications include gallbladder problems, kidney failure, serious allergic reaction and depression.
A study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found nausea and diarrhoea were the most common side effects.
But these were "typically transient and mild-to-moderate in severity and subsided with time", researchers said.
Alongside the side effects, some charities have warned the drug could be dangerous for people at risk of developing disorders.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) guidance says the drug should only be offered to obese adults with at least one weight-related condition and a BMI of at least 35.
The weight-related conditions include type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, high blood pressure, unbalanced or unhealthy cholesterol levels, obstructive sleep apnoea and heart disease.