NOVEMBER 11, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- A new large study finds that the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in certain patients. The international trial showed the weekly injections prevented heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths. Wegovy is a high-dose version of the diabetes treatment Ozempic. The latest study tested Wegovy in people without the disease. It’s being praised as a landmark study that could change the way doctors treat heart disease in some patients. The findings could also shift perceptions that a new class of obesity drugs are cosmetic treatments and put pressure on insurers to cover them.
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OCTOBER 16, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- A new study finds that the medicine in the diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people with obesity or who are overweight lose at least a quarter of their body weight. That’s about 60 pounds on average. The people also did three months of intensive diet and exercise. A group of people who also dieted and exercised, but got dummy shots instead, lost weight initially. But they regained some. The study results were published Sunday (Oct. 15, 2023). The drug is called tirzepatide. It is under review to treat obesity in the U.S. A decision is expected later this year.
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AUGUST 14, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- Patients taking blockbuster drugs like Wegovy for weight loss may face potentially deadly complications if they need surgery or other procedures that require empty stomachs for anesthesia. Experts say recent guidance to halt the medication for up to a week may not go far enough. Some doctors say the drug should be held for three weeks before sedation to accommodate the delayed emptying of the stomach, which can cause patients to inhale food and liquid into their lungs. Such complications can lead to deadly injury, infection and even death. It’s not clear how many patients taking the anti-obesity drugs may be affected.
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JUNE 1, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use off-brand versions of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy because they might not contain the same ingredients as the prescription products and may not be safe or effective.
Agency officials said this week that they have received reports of problems after patients used versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the brand-name medications, which have been compounded, or mixed in pharmacies. Officials didn’t say what the problems were.
The trouble is that those versions, often sold online, contain a version of semaglutide that is used in lab research and has not been approved for use in people.
“Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and the agency does not verify the safety or effectiveness of compounded drugs,” the notice said.
Sales of semaglutide products have soared in the past few years after the drug was shown to spur fast and significant weight loss. The drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk include brands Ozempic and Rybelsus, used to treat diabetes, and Wegovy, approved to treat obesity.
Demand for the medications has outstripped supply. As of May (2023), Ozempic and Wegovy remain on the FDA’s list of drug shortages. When drugs are in short supply, compounding pharmacies are permitted to produce versions of those medications.
Consumers should only use drugs containing semaglutide with a prescription from a licensed health care provider and obtained from a state-licensed pharmacy or other facilities registered with the FDA, the agency said.
JUNE 1, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use off-brand versions of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy because they might not contain the same ingredients as the prescription products and may not be safe or effective.
Agency officials said this week that they have received reports of problems after patients used versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the brand-name medications, which have been compounded, or mixed in pharmacies. Officials didn’t say what the problems were.
The trouble is that those versions, often sold online, contain a version of semaglutide that is used in lab research and has not been approved for use in people.
“Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and the agency does not verify the safety or effectiveness of compounded drugs,” the notice said.
Sales of semaglutide products have soared in the past few years after the drug was shown to spur fast and significant weight loss. The drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk include brands Ozempic and Rybelsus, used to treat diabetes, and Wegovy, approved to treat obesity.
Demand for the medications has outstripped supply. As of May (2023), Ozempic and Wegovy remain on the FDA’s list of drug shortages. When drugs are in short supply, compounding pharmacies are permitted to produce versions of those medications.
Consumers should only use drugs containing semaglutide with a prescription from a licensed health care provider and obtained from a state-licensed pharmacy or other facilities registered with the FDA, the agency said.
APRIL 27, 2023:
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JUNE 5, 2021:
UNDATED (AP)- Regulators say a new version of a popular diabetes medicine can be sold as a weight-loss drug in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Wegovy. It’s a higher-dose version of a diabetes drug from the Danish company Novo Nordisk. In company-funded studies, participants taking Wegovy had average weight loss of 15%. Participants lost weight steadily for 16 months before plateauing. In a comparison group getting dummy shots, the average weight loss was about 2.5%. More than 100 million adults in the U.S. are obese. Like other weight-loss drugs, it’s supposed to be used along with exercise and a healthy diet.
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