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Novo Nordisk, the corporate behind Ozempic and Wegovy, revealed a brand new evaluation of the longest study it has carried out to date by way of the lens of long-term weight reduction.
The 17,604-person examine, published in Nature Medication and presented 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 when nearly all of the load loss is accrued, you do not return and begin to enhance in weight if you happen to keep on the drug," Martin Holst Lange, Novo's growth head, informed Reuters in an interview.
The findings present that Wegovy is efficient in the long run, over a number of years, offered sufferers keep on it.
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An extra evaluation launched Tuesday primarily based on the identical knowledge confirmed that Wegovy had advantages for the center, no matter how a lot weight examine members misplaced whereas taking it.
Wegovy decreased the danger of stroke by 20% in chubby or overweight individuals with a historical past of coronary heart illness.
Researchers do not exactly know the way Wegovy's energetic ingredient, semaglutide, protects the center, 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 remedy," Lange informed Reuters on Tuesday.
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The information might add to Novo's case to have its weight reduction medicine be extra broadly coated by insurance coverage firms in international locations just like the U.S. and the U.Ok.
Nonetheless, there have been downsides to taking Wegovy recorded within the report — about 17% of those that took the drug left the examine early due to stomach-related points like nausea.
Novo has made Wegovy accessible in 10 international locations to date, 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, depending on the country.
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 offers members direct entry to Ozempic and Wegovy when acceptable, although the medicine value falls instantly on prospects or medical health insurance.
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Novo stated earlier this month that not less than 25,000 individuals within the U.S. begin Wegovy per week.