A new treatment for obesity

Wegovy is the latest in a line of medications, starting with phentermine in 1959, that have achieved FDA approval for the treatment of obesity. Currently there are 10 FDA-approved anti-obesity medications in the US: phentermine, diethylpropion, benzphetamine, phendimetrazine, orlistat, phentermine/topiramate ER (Qsymia), bupropion/naltrexone (Contrave), liraglutide (Saxenda), setmelanotide (Imcivree), and now semaglutide (Wegovy).

An Oral Version of Wegovy Appears as Effective as the Injectable Version

An oral version of semaglutide, the drug marketed as injectables Ozempic and Wegovy, causes substantial weight loss in people with obesity and overweight, according to data shared by drugmaker Novo Nordisk last week.1 While not yet approved squarely for a weight loss indication, a prescription pill or tablet may soon be a viable option for treating obesity.

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Websites appear to be defying a UK ban on advertising prescription drugs by urging customers to register their interest in the new weight-loss injection.

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The new treatment — a once-weekly injectable from Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company that has hired many leading diabetes and obesity scientists as consultants — is poised to safely help many people with health-threatening obesity, physicians and researchers say. It may even illuminate some of the mysteries around how appetite works in the first place.

Newly Approved Obesity Drug Wegovy Holds Promise, But Faces Reimbursement Challenges

The Wegovy approval continues a trend in which manufacturers of diabetes drugs repurpose them to treat other conditions that are common in diabetic patients. So, for example, the diabetes drugs Jardiance (empagliflozin) and Victoza (liraglutide) now have approvals for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke and death in cardiovascular patients.

Novo Nordisk's Wegovy is First and Only Once-Weekly GLP-1 Agonist Approved for Weight Management

Bays added that Wegovy’s safety profile is “far safer” than earlier drugs for obesity that “have gone down in flames” over safety issues. The most common side effects of Wegovy are gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. They typically subsided, but did cause about 5% of trial participants to stop taking the drug. There is also a possible risk for a type of thyroid tumor. As a result, the drug is contraindicated for people with a medical history or family history of certain thyroid and endocrine tumors. There is also a risk of depression and inflammation of the pancreas.

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Taking diet drug Wegovy for a year comes with a major added benefit, study finds

The study took place in the real world rather than a clinical trial, meaning there was no control group, so researchers couldn’t say for sure whether the improvement was due to Wegovy, known generically as semaglutide, or whether other factors could have been at play. But the outcome is a positive sign as doctors await results from a larger, more rigorous trial being run by Novo, Acosta said in an interview.

Teens Are Taking Wegovy for Weight Loss. But Doctors Have a Lot to Learn

Wegovy—an injected semaglutide medication, like its even buzzier sibling Ozempic—slows digestion and mimics a hormone that regulates appetite, leading people who take the drug to eat far less than before they started taking it. For some people, the idea of putting still-growing kids on an appetite-suppressing drug, potentially for life, raised alarm bells about physical and psychological long-term effects.

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Bays said Wegovy appears far safer than earlier obesity drugs that "have gone down in flames" over safety problems. Wegovy's most common side effects were gastrointestinal problems, including nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Those usually subsided, but led about 5% of study participants to stop taking it.

Thinking of buying Wegovy online? Here’s what to know about compounding pharmacies

With the growing demand for weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, new online companies seem to pop up every day, offering telehealth prescribing of cheaper, compounded versions of the medicines. And for some patients, they offer a reprieve from the high name-brand prices, insurance company coverage denials and drug shortages. The convenience and cost can be appealing, but there are some risks. Here’s what to know and how to protect yourself.

Wegovy works. But here's what happens if you can't afford to keep taking the drug

The rebound weight gain is not a surprise given how the medication works. Wegovy's active ingredient — semaglutide — is a GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, which mimics the GLP-1 satiety hormone in our bodies. When we eat, GLP-1 is released from our intestines and sends signals to our brain centers that control appetite. "This hormone is telling your brain, I'm full, I don't need to eat anymore," explains Dr. Robert Kushner of Northwestern University, who treats Yolanda Hamilton. Kushner also serves on a Novo Nordisk medical advisory board, for which he receives an honorarium.

Wegovy: what you need to know about this weight loss drug

The future of weight loss therapy looks bright, but in the end changes to diet and lifestyle will always need to be a significant component of any weight-loss attempt. But semaglutide may well be the kickstart to that weight loss journey that many people need.

Why You Might Not Be Able to Start Taking Wegovy

By temporarily reducing shipments of lower dose-strength Wegovy, the company would safeguard “continuity of care” for current patients, a Novo Nordisk spokeswoman said.