As reported by The Times, a weight-loss drug that can cut heart attacks and strokes by a fifth has been hailed by the government as a key tool in easing pressures on the NHS
In a landmark trial involving more than 17,500 overweight people with a history of heart disease, those taking the drug Wegovy were significantly less likely to suffer from severe cardiovascular problems, including death, over the subsequent five years, compared with those on a standard treatment.
The findings from the drug manufacturer’s study, released yesterday, exceeded expectations and are likely to accelerate plans to broaden access to the treatment on the NHS. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said that Wegovy and similar drugs coming on to the market could free up stretched resources, as well as improve people’s quality of life.
“The next generation of obesity drugs have the potential to help patients lose significant amounts of weight and reduce obesity-related conditions, helping ease pressure on the NHS and cut waiting times,” he said. “But it’s vital they’re used alongside diet, physical activity and wider behavioural support to help minimise weight regain.”
When the drug was first officially approved for use on the NHS in March, The Times reported that officials believed weight-loss drugs might ultimately be given to 12 million Britons. It is not known how much the drug will cost, but the lower dose version for diabetes is £74 a month.
In studies the drug, which is injected weekly and suppresses appetite, reduced weight by over 10 per cent so long as patients kept using it. A lower-dose version called Ozempic is already used to treat type 2 diabetes. The new finding provides further evidence of its health benefits in a long-awaited demonstration, showing that as well as helping with weight loss it also reduced the risk of obesity-associated conditions.
Martin Holst Lange, executive vice-president for development at Novo Nordisk, who made the drug, said that it was a landmark trial.
“People living with obesity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but to date there are no approved weight-management medications proven to deliver effective weight management while also reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death,” he said.
Professor Stephen O’Rahilly, director of the MRC metabolic diseases unit, University of Cambridge, said that although the full findings had yet to be published, from what he and his colleagues had seen, it “does not disappoint”. He added: “The obvious conclusion of these findings is that we should view obesity as a medical condition, like hypertension [high blood pressure], where effective and safe drug therapy can contribute to reducing serious adverse health outcomes.”
Experts have previously cautioned that people taking the drug should expect the weight to return if they stop using it — suggesting that it should be considered a treatment for controlling rather than curing obesity, in the same way as statins are used for heart problems. Last month The Times reported that clinicians were advising patients that they could expect to be on the drugs for the rest of their lives.
Dr Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, said the value of this approach was now clear. Similar reductions in cardiovascular risk, he said, were “unattainable for most people living with obesity through diet and exercise alone. This will not only provide significant financial savings for health bodies, but provide people with a greater quality of life.”
The trial looked at people over the age of 45 with a body mass index of 27 or greater, meaning they were classified as overweight. During the five years of the trial there were almost 1,300 major cardiovascular events recorded among the participants. Novo Nordisk said that these were 20 per cent less likely in trial participants on the drug.
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