Wegovy class has higher GI side effect risk than older weight loss drug in study

[October 06, 2023]  By Patrick Wingrove

(Reuters) - Medicines in the same class as Novo Nordisk’s popular weight-loss therapy Wegovy may carry an increased risk of pancreatitis, intestinal blockage, and stomach paralysis compared to an older obesity drug, according to a study published on Thursday.

For every 1,000 users of drugs with the same active ingredient as Wegovy, nearly five developed pancreatitis compared to one of every 1,000 users of bupropion-naltrexone, the active ingredients in the weight-loss drug Contrave, according to a report in the JAMA medical journal.

Contrave was approved in the U.S. in 2014.

Drugs in the study from the class known as GLP-1 inhibitors were semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Novo's diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus; and liraglutide, the active ingredient in the company's earlier obesity medicine Saxenda and diabetes drug Victoza.

For liraglutide, there were about eight cases of pancreatitis, a serious condition, per 1,000 users.

For stomach paralysis, researchers found roughly nine cases among every 1,000 users of semaglutide and about seven in liraglutide patients, compared with three among the same number of those taking bupropion-naltrexone.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson cited limitations of the study that might skew the results including a failure to fully consider patients' risk factors for gastrointestinal disorders. The data also was collected between 2006 and 2020, before Wegovy was approved in the U.S. in 2021.

A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska/Illustration/File Photo

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose GLP-1 diabetes drug Mounjaro is expected to be approved for weight loss this year, are facing several lawsuits in the U.S. accusing them of failing to warn users of the risks of severe stomach paralysis associated with the medicines.

GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy slow the passage of food through the stomach, helping people feel fuller longer, but problems can occur if stomach-emptying slows too much.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recorded 209 incidents of Wegovy patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders this year, 42 of whom were hospitalized.

“Given the wide use of these drugs, these adverse events, although rare, must be considered by patients who are contemplating using the drugs for weight loss because the risk/benefit calculus for this group might differ from that of those who use them for diabetes,” the study's authors wrote.

Last month, the FDA updated the label for Ozempic to warn of the potential for intestinal blockage, which is already listed as a side effect for Wegovy and Mounjaro.

(Reporting by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Nancy Lapid and Bill Berkrot)

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