Weight loss drug semaglutide could boost heart health of up to 93M patients in US alone
Weekly doses of semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor originally developed to treat diabetes, could help approximately 93 million U.S. adults lose weight and reduce their risk of adverse cardiovascular events, according to new research published in Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy.[1]
Novo Nordisk sells and markets subcutaneous treatments of semaglutide 2.4 mg under the brand name Wegovy. On August 8, the company announced that early results from the SELECT trial suggest semaglutide/Wegovy can help overweight and obese patients reduce their risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiovascular event—including a heart attack or stroke—by as much as 20%.
The team behind this latest analysis used data from nearly 4,000 overweight or obese adults in the United States to project how weekly treatments of semaglutide could potentially impact patient care. All patients included in the group’s analysis presented with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 30 kg/m2 or a BMI of ≥ 27 kg/m2 in addition to at least one weight-related comorbidity. The mean age for this group was 47 years old.
Overall, the authors calculated that approximately 93 million patients would be eligible for treatment with semaglutide. This could result in approximately 43 million fewer U.S. adults with obesity and a reduction in that population’s total adverse cardiovascular events of up to 1.5 million.
Lead author Nathan D. Wong, PhD, a preventive cardiologist and professor with the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, described semaglutide potential for overweight and obese patients as “one of the biggest advances in the obesity and cardiovascular medicine world” in a prepared statement.
“We now have a weight control therapy that also significantly reduces cardiovascular events beyond the diabetes population where it was originally studied,” Wong said. “It should be considered for patients who are obese or overweight with other risk factors where cardiovascular disease is their leading cause of disability and death.”
Wong does have a working relationship with multiple vendors, including Novo Nordisk. In addition, Novo Nordisk helped fund this study.
Novo Nordisk plans on seeking regulatory approval for semaglutide as a treatment for cardiovascular disease in the United States and Europe in the near future. For now, it has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this specific indication.
Read the full analysis here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.