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