OAN’s Abril Elfi
9:27 AM – Saturday, March 9, 2024
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the weight-loss drug Wegovy to reduce heart attack and stroke risk.
On Friday, drugmaker Novo Nordisk stated that the FDA has updated the drug’s label so that Wegovy can be prescribed to help reduce the risk of heart issues in overweight adults.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading cause of death in the United States is heart attack.
The modification was made in response to Novo Nordisk’s discovery that Wegovy reduced the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, by 20% when compared to a placebo in a late-stage clinical trial involving over 17,000 adults.
Every participant in the trial had a history of heart disease and was either obese or overweight.
The medication may now be covered by more insurers and employers, thanks to the label change.
Medicare is not allowed to pay for Wegovy or other weight-loss drugs like Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, so insurance usually does not cover them.
Wegovy is now the first weight management and heart disease risk reduction medication authorized in the United States, according to Novo Nordisk.
Semaglutide, the active component of the well-known diabetes medication Ozempic, which is frequently administered off-label for weight loss, is also present in Wegovy and manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
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