Food and Drug Administration Approved Weight Loss Drug

A Weight Loss drug described as a game-changer by the obesity researchers has just been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, representing the first time the agency has endorsed such a treatment in several years. Wegovy, a weight-management therapy to be manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, is the first FDA-approved weight-loss drug since 2014.

The same drug, called semaglutide, has been used in the US and other countries as an anti-diabetic medication for years. The evidence has shown that semaglutide at a different dosage also functions as a powerful and effective appetite-suppressant.

In a study published earlier in the year involving almost 2,000 obese adults from 16 different countries, researchers reported that long-term treatment with the medicine led to almost 15% Weight Loss on average across the cohort. Some lost even more, with over 30% of the group dropping more than 20% of their body weight results that the scientists singled out.Rachel Batterham from University College London and an obesity researcher said that no other drug has come close to producing this level of Weight Loss. This is a game-changer. For the first time, people can achieve through drugs what was only possible through weight-loss surgery.

The agency announced that semaglutide had been approved for chronic weight management in adults who are either obese or overweight, and who have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol. The therapy, which is expected to be launched by Novo Nordisk in the US later this month, comes in the form of a once-weekly injection, delivering the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 that makes recipients feel fuller, helping them to subsequently eat less.