Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wegovy Cuts Heart Attack And Stroke Risks In Clinical Study
Bloomberg: Wegovy Weight Loss Drug May Also Treat Heart Disease, Study Shows
Novo Nordisk A/S unveiled details from a closely watched study that supports the use of Wegovy, its blockbuster weight-loss drug, to cut heart attacks and deaths in obesity patients with a history of cardiovascular disease. The results are “game-changing,” Eugene Yang, the chair of the American College of Cardiology’s prevention section, said in an interview. (Muller and Kresge, 11/11)
Reuters: Wegovy's Heart Benefits Due To More Than Weight Loss, Novo Says
In the study of overweight and obese patients based on body mass index who had preexisting heart disease but not diabetes, Wegovy reduced the risk of non-fatal heart attack by 28%, non-fatal stroke by 7% and heart-related death by 15% compared to a placebo. Given that patients had not started losing weight when the cardiovascular benefits first appeared suggests the heart protection was not purely the result of weight loss, Novo said. (Wingrove, 11/12)
The New York Times: Weight Loss Drug Wegovy Can Cut Heart Attack Risk For Some, Study Shows
“We’ve just identified a new best practice,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of the division of cardiology at Northwestern Medicine, who was not involved with the study. But the research also raises questions about exactly how the drug helps the heart — through weight loss itself, or other mechanisms — and whether it can be as effective in a real-world setting, with a more diverse group of patients than those included in the trial. (Blum, 11/11)
Spurred by its success, Novo is investing —
The Wall Street Journal: Wegovy Maker Novo Nordisk To Spend $6 Billion Boosting Production Capacity
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant that makes the blockbuster Wegovy obesity drug, said it will invest more than $6 billion to boost production capacity. (Chopping, 11/10)
Reuters: Novo Invests $6 Billion In Wegovy Production, Still Below Demand
Obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) said on Friday it will spend $6 billion to boost production in Denmark, although its chief executive warned the industry was far from being able to produce enough weight-loss drugs to meet global demand. Novo Nordisk has had phenomenal success with its anti-obesity drug, Wegovy, but has scrambled to address shortages that have forced it to limit the number of patients. (Fick and Gronholt-pedersen, 11/10)
Reuters: Novo Seeks Obesity, Diabetes 'Bolt-On' Deals
Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) wants to buy more companies with drugs in early- to mid-stages of development through "bolt-on" deals of up to a few billion dollars, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told Reuters on Friday. As the company's fortunes soar on demand for its popular weight-loss medicine Wegovy, Jorgensen said Novo sought to acquire companies working on medicines in the areas where it is already focused. (Fick and Gronholt-pedersen, 11/10)
Meanwhile, the demand for weight-loss drugs is causing issues —
Axios: Doctors Grapple With Patients' Demand For Weight-Loss Drugs
Doctors are getting inundated with patients' requests for wildly popular new anti-obesity drugs, including from many who don't really need them. Primary care doctors in particular, who typically have little training in obesity, have found themselves as gatekeepers for a class of injection drugs, including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, that are effective but still face questions about who should take them. (Reed, 11/13)
