Heart attack and stroke risk appears to fall for people taking the weight-loss drug Wegovy

Wegovy, a weight-loss drug from Novo Nordisk, also helps prevent heart attacks and stroke in people at high risk, according to a company news release.

The trial of more than 17,000 adults 45 and older with obesity or overweight showed a 20% reduction in first heart attack, stroke or death from a cardiovascular event. Participants were given weekly injections of 2.4 mg of the drug semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, or a placebo, for as long as five years.

The results, released Tuesday, have not yet been peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal, and the Danish pharmaceutical company only provided limited information.

Doctors who treat patients with obesity were thrilled by the report, which is the first to show a major health benefit for a class of drugs first approved to treat people with diabetes.

"Obesity treatment is far more than about weight loss. It's about health improvement. It's about extending life," said Dr. Michael Albert, an obesity specialist in Oklahoma who runs a telehealth medical practice called Accomplish Health. "I think we'll look back and see this was a watershed moment (in the treatment of obesity)."

Albert, who has consulted for Novo Nordisk in the past, said he thinks the new trial will be enough to convince the federal government to cover the cost of Wegovy and weight-loss medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, which can run $1,300 a month or more without insurance.

Earlier generations of weight-loss medications have helped people lose about 5% of their body weight, which wasn't enough to see a benefit in terms of heart health, Albert said. Semaglutide has been shown to help people lose about 10% to 15% of body weight, which he said likely explains the better results.

Another GLP-1 agonist, tirzepatide, so far only approved for people with diabetes, can help people with obesity lose as much as 27% of their body weight, according to data released late last month. Eli Lilly, which manufactures tirzepatide and sells it under the brand name Mounjaro, is also studying the drug for heart disease.

Common side effects of the GLP-1 agonists, which suppress appetite, can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, dizziness and headaches. Rare, more serious potential side effects include pancreatitis, gallstones, kidney damage, allergic reactions or thyroid tumors.

Both Wegovy and Mounjaro are in short supply and have been hard to get even for people who are prescribed and can afford them. Albert said he's had a harder time getting coverage for his patients as this calendar year has progressed, with fewer insurance companies covering the drugs and more companies adding coverage restrictions.

Costs won't fall in the U.S., Albert said, until someone with a lot of negotiating power, like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, covers the drugs and bargains the price downward. "Right now, with the supply and demand economics, the drug manufacturers can't even keep up with the global demand for these drugs," he said, "so there's no incentive for them to lower the price of these at the moment."

Critics remain concerned about the pressure drug companies have put on the government to cover costly medications and are unconvinced by the new data.

"I don't think this means anything," said Ragen Chastain, who writes and researches on the intersection of weight science, weight stigma, health and health care.

By releasing just a short statement without the full study results, it's impossible to tell how many people dropped out of the study, were unable to tolerate the full 2.4 mg dose of semaglutide or how the results might be extrapolated to a broader population, Chastain said.

"They get to put out a press release with a big headline and have zero accountability and then hope that people don't remember maybe when the study does get peer reviewed," she said.

Novo Nordisk's stock rose nearly 16% on Tuesday on the news of the study's result.

Contact Karen Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wegovy weight-loss drug appears to reduce heart attack, stroke risk