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Weight-loss drug lowers cardiovascular disease risk in new trial of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy
Nature Medicine explores the latest translational and clinical research news, with early results from a phase 3 clinical trial of the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk released results from its SELECT trial on 8 August 2023 showing that patients receiving the GLP-1 analog semaglutide (Wegovy) had a 20% reduction in cardiovascular events compared with those who received a placebo. The trial included 17,500 patients with obesity and heart disease who injected themselves weekly with either semaglutide or placebo using a pre-filled pen — and were monitored for 5 years. Patients were based in more than 800 sites across the world, including the USA, India, Brazil, South Africa and Australia. The company press release did not specify the separate reductions for heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths, apart from stating that all three contributed to the overall 20% reduction. Common side effects of the drug include nausea, constipation and diarrhea, with a possible link to thyroid cancer mentioned in the product information (although a meta-analysis found no link).