United States: According to a study carried out by Harvard Medical School, Semaglutide, a common element that is present in various famous weight drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, might be linked with a heightened risk of not-so-common eye disease.
More about the news
According to the analysts, the result is “hardly a game-changer,” but the revelation might have an impact on the Danish pharmaceutical company’s shares, which dipped on Thursday before rising to 0.1 percent the next early morning, as CNBC News reported.
The Harvard report, however, found that patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity who were taking semaglutide drugs had been seen at heightened risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which is a rare condition of one-eye vision impairment.
Therefore, as per the study, the patients were more likely to be diagnosed with eye conditions as compared to those not being prescribed weight loss drugs.
What does the company say?
According to Novo Nordisk’s spokesperson, the optic nerve disease NAION is not an “adverse drug reaction for the marketed formulations of semaglutide,” according to the approved labels.
He even said that there are “key methodological limitations” that the study has, like a “small number of people” who had type 2 diabetes or obesity and were on semaglutide drugs.
He continued, “Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously,” as CNBC News reported.
About popular weight loss drug
The very famous weight-loss drug from Novo Nordisk has made it the most valuable company in Europe, whose valuation is even larger than Denmark’s total gross domestic product last year.
However, Wegovy has also shown some health benefits, which go beyond loss of weight or regulating blood sugar levels.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug was approved in March for its use in lessening heart disease risk, as CNBC News reported.
However, since then, the drug faced several hurdles of scrutiny after a few patients claimed to have experienced stomach paralysis and suicidal ideation while taking them.