The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved semaglutide, known commercially as Wegovy, to reduce the risk of serious heart problems or strokes in overweight and obese adults.
This approval makes semaglutide the first weight loss drug in the UK prescribed to prevent cardiovascular events in individuals with established cardiovascular disease.
Wegovy was already approved in the UK for obesity treatment and weight management, but this latest approval has broadened its commercial scope.
MHRA’s approval of the drug follows post-approval clinical study showing semaglutide reduces major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) by 20%.
The study involved over 17,600 participants and demonstrated that semaglutide significantly lowers the incidence of cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, and strokes compared to a placebo.
Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer of the British Heart Foundation, called semaglutide “an effective tool that can improve the quality of life for those with cardiovascular disease, including by lowering the risk of serious cardiac events”.
Nearly two thirds of adults in England are living with excess weight or obesity, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Wegovy has been a blockbuster success for Danish owner Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), whose share price has rocketed nearly 300% since US regulator the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the drug initial approval in June 2021.
Today, Novo Nordisk is Europe’s most valuable company with a $600 billion (£465 billion/€553 billion) market capitalisation.