Semaglutide: UK regulator approves drug for prevention of cardiovascular events

Doctors in the UK will be able to prescribe the weight loss drug semaglutide (Wegovy) to reduce the risk of serious heart problems or strokes in overweight and obese people, after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved a new indication for the drug.The GLP-1 receptor agonist is already approved on the NHS for treating obesity—a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more—and for weight management in people with a BMI of 30.0-34.9 who meet criteria for referral to specialist weight management services. It is manufactured by Novo Nordisk and administered by injection in a prefilled pen.The new approval will make semaglutide the first weight loss drug available to be prescribed to prevent serious cardiovascular events in people with established cardiovascular disease and a BMI of 27 or more.The MHRA said that the drug’s approval was based on data from the Select clinical trial,1 which showed that…
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