NVO Novo Nordisk

By Dominic Chopping

The effectiveness of Novo Nordisk's blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy in reducing heart attacks and strokes could be due to more than weight loss alone, according to new clinical trial data.

The surging popularity of the drug has seen the Danish pharmaceutical giant scramble to boost production as it struggles to meet demand. It has been forced to limit supply of lower-strength doses of Wegovy in the U.S. as it seeks to safeguard supplies for current patients, and has outlined plans to invest more than $6 billion to boost production capacity.

Initial results from a five-year study of Semaglutide, which is marketed as Wegovy, showed in August that it not only helped people lose weight but also reduced their risk of suffering heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths by 20%.

The results showed that the weight loss Wegovy delivers can have important secondary benefits in people who don't have diabetes, but new data from the same study presented on Saturday at the American Heart Association annual Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest these cardiovascular benefits might actually be a direct result of the drug, rather than a secondary benefit of losing weight.

"The beneficial effects in major adverse cardiovascular events risk reduction were evident soon after treatment initiation," Novo Nordisk said in a statement.

"This suggests that weight loss alone may not fully explain the benefits of semaglutide 2.4 milligrams in reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events."

Novo Nordisk said the study showed that the risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction or heart attack in patients with heart disease but not diabetes was reduced by 28% compared to placebo, with the risk of cardiovascular death reduced by 15% and the risk of non-fatal stroke reduced by 7%.

Wegovy belongs to a class of drugs that work by mimicking a gut hormone known as GLP-1, which has various effects including promoting insulin production and suppressing appetite.

U.S. drug regulators last week approved expanding the use of Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro to include the treatment of obesity. Lilly will sell the drug under the name Zepbound for chronic weight management. As well as mimicking the GLP-1 gut hormone, Mounjaro also mimics a second gut hormone, dubbed GIP, which is believed to enhance the effect.

Novo Nordisk said it has filed for a label update of Wegovy in the U.S. and EU to include an indication for risk reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with a body mass index of more than 27 and established cardiovascular disease. A decision is expected in 2024.

The Food and Drug Administration recently granted priority review for the addition of the trial data to the label for Wegovy in the U.S.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2023 03:56 ET (08:56 GMT)

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