Wegovy and its diabetes counterpart Ozempic sparked a weight loss industry gold rush over the past year for their ability to help patients shed pounds
The Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy for use in slashing the risk of serious cardiovascular complications in people with obesity and heart disease, the company said.
.Millions of patients already use the popular injectable treatment. But the agency's decision could widen insurance coverage for the costlyThe approval also demonstrates that weight loss drugs have significant health benefits beyond shedding unwanted pounds and regulating blood sugar. Weekly injections of Wegovy slashed the overall risk of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular causes by 20%, according to a landmark late-stage trial on the drug.
They are part of a class of drugs that mimic a hormone produced in the gut called GLP-1 to suppress a person's appetite. Both Wegovy and Ozempic cost around $1,000 per month before insurance. Wegovy reduced the risk of non-fatal heart attack by 28% in the five-year trial. It produced a smaller 7% reduction in the occurrence of non-fatal stroke, though few strokes were seen in the trial overall.
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