The US Meals and Drug Administration immediately accepted a capsule model of the blockbuster anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Made by Novo Nordisk, the capsule is taken as soon as a day. The corporate’s authentic model of Wegovy is a weekly injection. Each medication include the identical energetic ingredient, semaglutide.
“This permits sufferers with weight problems who need to drop some weight to have a alternative between a as soon as weekly injection or a every day pill,” says Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer at Novo Nordisk.
With the hovering reputation of injectable GLP-1 medication for weight reduction, Novo Nordisk and different pharmaceutical firms have been racing to make efficient capsule variations that could possibly be preferable for some sufferers. These medication mimic a naturally occurring hormone within the physique that acts on the mind and intestine to advertise a sense of fullness.
In scientific trial outcomes revealed within the New England Journal of Drugs, members who took the capsule achieved a median weight lack of 13.6 p.c by 64 weeks. Almost 30 p.c of individuals misplaced 20 p.c or extra of their weight. The examine additionally confirmed enhancements in heart problems danger and bodily exercise ranges just like the injectable model.
Whereas tablets can typically be a extra handy choice, sufferers might not at all times take them as prescribed, making them much less efficient. The scientific trial investigators estimated that in a perfect state of affairs the place members take the capsule daily as prescribed, weight reduction can be 16.6 p.c—which has similarities to outcomes seen with injectable Wegovy.
Novo Nordisk first received approval for an oral semaglutide, bought below the model identify Rybelsus, in 2019 to deal with kind 2 diabetes. That drug has by no means been accepted for weight problems and isn’t as efficient for weight reduction as newer GLP-1 drugs. The Wegovy capsule is basically a higher-dose model of Rybselsus.
“The efficacy for the weight problems capsule on the finish of the day is pushed by dose. Greater doses are required to attain full weight-loss potential for weight problems,” Lange says. The Wegovy capsule is 25 milligrams whereas Rybelsus is 14 milligrams.
The commonest unwanted side effects of oral Wegovy embody nausea and vomiting, that are additionally unwanted side effects of the injectable model.
Novo says the beginning dose of the capsule, 1.5 milligrams, shall be obtainable in early January for $149 per thirty days with financial savings presents. Manufacturing of the remedy is already underway at Novo Nordisk’s US manufacturing websites, and the corporate expects to have sufficient of the drug to fulfill US demand.
