United States: The latest research showed that those taking a core element of the blockbuster weight loss medicines, namely the Ozempic and Wegovy, had a lower risk of dying from coronavirus or experiencing some negative impacts from the deadly virus.
More about the finding
Patients who were already on treatment at the time of the survey comprised 2.4 mg dose of the drug semaglutide, which is an ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy drugs by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, could still contract Covid but would be 33 percent less likely to die from the sickness, the studies said, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Friday.
The papers also show that semaglutide may have cardiovascular benefits not previously known to include lowering the risks of serious heart incidences such as heart attacks and strokes, CNBC reported.
Speaking to JACC, the co-author of the paper, Benjamin Scirica, said that the patients who received semaglutide in his study had a 29 percent reduced risk of death from other causes apart from cardiovascular events, and weight did not seem to have influenced the outcome.
More about the study
The major trial, which began before the outbreak of the pandemic and continued through it, enrolled over 17,600 patients who were overweight or obese and those with cardiovascular disease but not diabetes.
Other research by JACC on Friday also revealed that semaglutide eased heart failure-related symptoms and inflammation, among other functions, and even lowered the mortality rate among patients with chronic kidney disease.
The discovery will be a major boost to Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, which has seen the value of semaglutide-based drugs skyrocket.
It has climbed the ladder to become Europe’s most valuable company as it faces stiff competition in the global market for weight loss products from players such as Eli Lilly of the US and several other competitors.
Moreover, the discovery of new benefits from semaglutide could open up the drug for future uses.
What more have the experts stated?
According to the Yale University School of Medicine Professor and JACC editor Harlan Krumholz, “I begin to think about the weight loss almost as a side effect; I mean these [drugs] are really promoting health,” CNBC reported.
“I was thinking mostly about cardiometabolic health… but there may be many mechanisms by which [semaglutide] is making us healthier, and in some ways, this is suggesting it’s helping us to resist the adverse consequences of the pandemic,” he added.