Study: Weight-Loss Drug Wegovy Has Significant Heart Benefits

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Facts

  • According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug semaglutide — sold as Wegovy — may benefit patients living with heart disease.1
  • The randomized controlled trial included 529 assigned patients who had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity. Half of the subjects received a once-weekly 2.4 mg jab of semaglutide for a year, while the other half was given a placebo treatment.2
  • The trial found that the medication led to considerable reductions in symptoms and physical limitations, significant improvements in exercise function, and greater weight loss in patients treated with semaglutide than the placebo.3
  • About 64M people globally are reportedly living with heart failure, a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, with preserved ejection fraction — when the heart pumps normally but is too stiff to fill properly — accounting for over half of the cases in the US.4
  • Earlier this month, based on a five-year trial involving more than 17.5K adults aged 45 and older, Novo Nordisk claimed that a 2.4 mg jab of semaglutide could cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by 20%.5
  • Despite ongoing shortages in existing markets over booming demand, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen plans to launch Wegovy in more countries, insisting that the company's contractor for the drug would be able to resolve its manufacturing issues.6

Sources: 1USA Today, 2Daily Mail, 3New England Journal of Medicine, 4CNN, 5The Messenger and 6Forbes.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. Semaglutide, the active substance in Wegovy, has already been approved to treat weight loss and type 2 diabetes — and new research shows that this drug holds promise in a wide array of diseases, ranging from cardiovascular events to dementia. As an analog of the naturally-produced GLP-1 hormone, there are many logical reasons behind its potential benefits.
  • Narrative B, as provided by PJ Media. Echoing Big Pharma propaganda under the guise of news reporting, legacy media has praised semaglutide — which has a long and growing list of risks — as a miracle with such effectiveness that people with diabetes who rely on it can't access the drug. It's illogical to believe that one can artificially manipulate hormone levels without adverse side effects — common sense and prudence are crucial to calculating risks and benefits.