The FDA announced Friday that Wegovy has been approved for use as a heart disease prevention drug.

Injectable semaglutide — originally approved weight loss In certain patients, it has also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke in adults who have cardiovascular disease and are overweight or obese, the release said.

“Wegovy is currently the first weight loss drugs It will also be approved for the prevention of life-threatening cardiovascular events in obese or overweight adults with cardiovascular disease,” said John Sharetz, M.D., director of the Division of Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, and Obesity in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation. the doctor said. Research, press release.

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He also said, “This patient population is at high risk for cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke.”

“Providing treatment options proven to reduce this cardiovascular risk is a major advance in medicine. public health. ”

Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster obesity drug Wegoby reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes in a long-awaited study. (Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Wigovy, manufactured by Denmark-based Novo Nordisk, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist and should not be taken with other semaglutide or GLP-1 products, according to the FDA. said.

This approval came after a large-scale randomized, double-blind trial involving 17,600 participants in two groups.

Both groups received “standard treatment (such as blood pressure and cholesterol management) and healthy lifestyle counseling (such as diet and physical activity).”

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In the trial, the group taking Wegovy showed a significant reduction in cardiovascular death. heart attack and stroke.

Brooke Boyarski Pratt, CEO of Boston-based weight management company Knownwell, said the announcement marks an “exciting day” for patients including: Heart disease So are their doctors.

“This approval is an important step in making this potentially lifesaving medicine available to patients,” Pratt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Injectable semaglutide Wegovy was initially approved for weight loss in eligible patients. (Steffen Trumph/Photo partnership via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“We continue to support what the medical community has known all along: GLP-1 exists to treat serious chronic diseases, now cardiovascular disease in addition to diabetes and obesity.”

The FDA’s approval is a step in the right direction to combat “stigma and stigma” surrounding these drugs, she said.

“Significantly reducing the risk of heart disease in high-risk patients is of great importance to both patients and clinicians,” Professor Platt continued.

This is a “landmark decision in the field of obesity pharmacotherapy.”

“We hope that with this indication, patients who have unfortunately not previously had insurance coverage for these drugs will soon be covered.”

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Dr. Darren McGuire, a cardiologist at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, called the FDA’s approval “a landmark decision in the field of obesity drug therapy.”

“This FDA action makes semaglutide the first drug approved for human treatment in the United States,” he told Fox News Digital. living with obesity It goes beyond making cardiovascular safety claims. ”

A panoramic view of the headquarters of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk on September 26, 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Reuters/Tom Little/File Photo/Reuters Photo)

McGuire said the decision reinforces what most medical professionals have known for decades: “Losing weight in people living with obesity is important because obesity, including cardiovascular disease, “This evidence suggests that it may reduce the risk of a wide range of complications associated with

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Mr. McGuire is an expert in heart disease and prevention, with a particular focus on heart disease. person with diabetespredicts that approximately 1 in 5 U.S. adults will benefit from treatment with semaglutide.

“Conservatively, approximately 55 million U.S. adults are eligible for cardiovascular risk reduction with semaglutide,” he said.

Looking ahead, McGuire predicts that many similar drugs will come to market in the next few years.

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“At this time, semaglutide is the only drug in its class with proven cardiovascular efficacy and FDA approval,” he told FOX News Digital. “This field will evolve rapidly as many more drugs are currently being developed and tested as well.”

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Experts say patients should talk to their health care providers about Wegovy’s potential benefits and side effects.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Novo Nordisk for additional comment.

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