A popular weight loss drug may reduce the risk of death from COVID-19, according to a new study.
The research Released on Friday A clinical trial of Wegovy found that people who took the obesity drug during the COVID pandemic had a lower risk of dying from the virus, according to a paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The drug's active ingredient, semaglutide, has made it a popular choice among people trying to lose weight. Wegovy is widely used alongside Ozempic, and both drugs are also used to treat type 2 diabetes.
During clinical trials, people who took the drug still contracted the virus, but their chances of dying were reduced by 33%, the study found.
The pandemic began after the clinical trial had already begun, giving researchers the opportunity to evaluate “the impact of COVID-19 on patients who are at high risk of COVID-19-related complications and death given their underlying comorbidities, and whether semaglutide reduces that risk.”
The study, sponsored by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegobee, involved 17,694 people with diagnosed heart disease.
Of the participants, 4,258 developed COVID-19, about half of whom had taken Wegovy and the other half had taken a placebo.
The study found that 184 people who were infected died. Of those who died, 106 had taken a placebo and 78 had taken Wegovi.
Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, wrote an editorial accompanying the study.
“The pandemic reveals much about society and exposes its weaknesses. Its lessons should spur action,” he wrote. “It is clear that we need healthier people.”
“But repurposed studies like SELECT can yield less obvious insights, such as the idea that semaglutide (and similar drugs) may have dramatically improved outcomes in pandemics caused by respiratory viruses,” Faust added.
He also The New York Times In an interview, he called the data “astonishing.”
The research is as follows: Another recent study The results showed that Tirzepatide, a drug found in the weight loss drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, reduced the severity of sleep apnea.
The study comes as the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration have recently stepped up warnings against counterfeit medicines that resemble weight-loss drugs.
