New ‘ miracle pill ’ could be game-changer for obesity
Wegovy given approval after showing up to 18 percent weight loss in trials
Few medications have been greeted with the hype that Wegovy has since its approval by American drug regulators in June , with the obesity medication being called a “ breakthrough ” or “ game-changer ” by experts . The first chronic weight management drug to be approved in the United States in seven years , Wegovy is injected weekly and was found to contribute to an average weight loss of 17-18 percent , sustained over 68 weeks during trials .
Marketed by Novo Nordisk , its active ingredient is semaglutide , a form of which is used around the world for the treatment of type 2 diabetes .
Wegovy is now being billed as a revolutionary therapy for patients struggling with obesity and who fulfil its criteria for use — namely , adults with a body mass of at least 30 kg per square metre , or those who are overweight above 27 kg per square metre with at least one weight-related chronic medical condition such as high blood pressure , high cholesterol , or type 2 diabetes .
The drug ’ s development can be traced back to a scientist in Canada who found that the venom of a Gila monster lizard contained hormones that can regulate blood sugar .
After about a decade of research , a synthetic version of a hormone from the venom was developed that became the first medicine of its kind approved to treat type 2 diabetes . Semaglutide also takes its structure from the lizard ’ s venom .
In the United States , where obesity is a major health issue , with over 42 percent of the population categorised as obese in 2017 , the newly approved drug is expected to make a splash , but there are varying degrees of excitement in other countries where weight management is viewed differently .
In Singapore , for example , the massive appetite among consumers for weight loss pills is matched only by the desire by authorities to stamp out illegal imports of such drugs . Instead of relying on medication , the government has placed lifestyle change front and centre in its efforts to curb the growth of obesity and the diseases that often accompany it .
Likewise in Australia , Jane Martin of Obesity Prevention Coalition is of the opinion that the most effective national weight loss strategy is to persuade people to eat well and only resort to miracle pills on the advice of doctors .
Since weight loss drugs are not allowed to be marketed directly to the public in the country , she speculates that awareness about them will be much lower than in America .
“ Of course , if we had a society that was more supportive for people to have access to healthy , delicious food that was cheap and heavily marketed — something that is much more likely to occur in relation to unhealthy processed foods — that would be ideal in helping to shift the whole of society to healthier diets , regardless of their weight ,” she told Global Health Asia- Pacific�
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com AUGUST 2021
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