Semaglutide – a weight loss and diabetes injection such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus – significantly improved blood sugar control and weight in adults with type 2 diabetes over three years, according to new data presented Monday at a major endocrine meeting.
The findings, funded by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, were presented by Israeli researchers at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Hamburg, Germany.
The scientists retrospectively analyzed data from more than 23,000 diabetic patients who took semaglutide. Six months after starting treatment, patients’ HbA1c levels (measured by a blood test that measures average blood sugar levels over the past 8-12 weeks) improved, falling by an average of 0.77%. Weight loss averaged 10 pounds.
Patients who took the drug for that long maintained their results for more than three years, consistently losing about 13 pounds, the researchers said. HbA1c results averaged a two-year decrease of 0.76% and a three-year average decrease of 0.43%. A decrease by one percentage point A reduction in HbA1c is typically equivalent to a 40% reduction in the risk of diabetes complications such as vision loss, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and premature death.
Researchers say the study represents the first long-term, large-scale, real-world trial of the blockbuster drug. Lead researcher Dr. Avraham Karasik of the Maccabi Institute for Research and Innovation at Tel Aviv University in Israel said the findings support weekly use of the drug in patients with type 2 diabetes. said in a press release about the study.
The results are consistent with clinical trial results for the drug, Karasik added, and experts say they’re not surprising wealth Had a conversation.
While the findings were as expected, “large-scale observational data to support randomized clinical trial data would be helpful,” PhD.Uppal PajwaniAssociate Professor of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, Columbia University, New York, tells us wealth.
Dr. Deborah HornObesity medicine experts at the University of Texas at Houston Health Center tell us wealth “It’s always reassuring to see results from a controlled environment, such as a clinical trial that is replicated in the real world,” Adding that HbA1c and weight changes mirror what she sees in her patients.
Horn said the study’s main message is: “If you keep taking your medication, you’ll do better.”
The “miracle medicine” that has both risks and benefits
Semaglutide is a once-weekly injection that mimics a hormone produced in the gut after a meal called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It helps regulate appetite and food intake.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy, a formulation of Novo Nordisk, in 2021 for weight management in adults with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and/or high cholesterol. It is designed to be used in conjunction with diet and exercise. The FDA approved another Novo Nordisk formulation, Ozempic, in 2017 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. And in 2019, the first oral semaglutide, Rybelsus, was approved, which is also a Novo Nordisk product.
While semaglutide has been used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes for six years and obesity for two years, recent research suggests that this so-called “wonder drug” may also help fight other diseases, such as heart disease. disease and heart failure.
But it’s not without risks. So far, the drug has typically only been studied in patients for a year. But beyond that, Chinese researchers wrote in a report that the risk of intestinal obstruction, a potentially fatal condition that requires surgery, continues to increase in people with type 2 diabetes, peaking around a year and a half. letter to the editor Published this spring in a medical journal Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences B.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated late last month Ozempic Warning Labels, said the drug may cause ileus, a condition in which the intestines do not function properly. Wegovy’s packaging information also admit risk.
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