Novo Nordisk, the corporate behind Ozempic and Wegovy, revealed a brand new evaluation of the longest research it has performed thus far by means of the lens of long-term weight reduction.
The 17,604-person research, revealed in Nature Drugs and introduced on the European Congress on Weight problems in Venice, Italy on Tuesday, confirmed for the primary time that weight problems sufferers with out diabetes maintained a ten% common weight reduction over 4 years after taking Wegovy.
“We see that after nearly all of the load loss is accrued, you do not return and begin to improve in weight when you keep on the drug,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo’s improvement head, advised Reuters in an interview.
The findings present that Wegovy is efficient in the long run, over a number of years, supplied sufferers keep on it.
Associated: Novo Nordisk Is Price Extra Than Denmark’s GDP Due to America’s Ozempic and Wegovy Craze
A further evaluation launched Tuesday primarily based on the identical information confirmed that Wegovy had advantages for the guts, no matter how a lot weight research individuals misplaced whereas taking it.
Wegovy decreased the chance of stroke by 20% in chubby or overweight individuals with a historical past of coronary heart illness.
Researchers do not exactly understand how Wegovy’s lively ingredient, semaglutide, protects the guts, and are conducting research to know it.
“We now additionally perceive that whereas we all know that physique weight reduction is necessary, it is not the one factor driving the cardiovascular advantage of semaglutide therapy,” Lange advised Reuters on Tuesday.
Associated: These U.S. Well being Insurers Will Now Cowl Wegovy, the Wildly Fashionable $1,349 Weight-Loss Drug
The information might add to Novo’s case to have its weight reduction medication be extra broadly lined by insurance coverage corporations in nations just like the U.S. and the U.Okay.
Nonetheless, there have been downsides to taking Wegovy recorded within the report — about 17% of those that took the drug left the research early due to stomach-related points like nausea.
Novo has made Wegovy out there in 10 nations thus far, together with the U.S., Norway, Japan, and Spain, since releasing the drug in 2021. Costs begin at $200 and may attain nearly $2,000 per 30 days, relying on the nation.
Within the U.S., Ozempic goes for about $936 a month out of pocket whereas Wegovy sells for about $1,350 a month.
Costco created a program in April that provides members direct entry to Ozempic and Wegovy when applicable, although the remedy value falls immediately on clients or medical insurance.
Associated: Costco Proclaims Ozempic, Wegovy Prescriptions and New Weight Loss Program
Novo stated earlier this month that at the least 25,000 individuals within the U.S. begin Wegovy per week.
