FDA Approves Diabetes Drug For Weight Loss

[appalachiablue]

Source: MSN/NBC4

(2 hrs ago). A revamped version of a popular diabetes drug that’s given at a higher dose to fight obesity is the first prescription medication for weight loss approved by the Food and Drug Administration in seven years.

Wegovy is a synthetic version of a gut hormone that curbs hunger. Patients inject the medication under their skin once a week. Dr. Domenica Rubino, director of the Washington Center for Weight Management and Research in Arlington, Virginia, took part in a study, enrolling and monitoring two dozen patients.

“It's mimicking a hormone we have but in a greater amount, so it actually tells the brain we're not as hungry,” Rubino said. The drug is intended for adults with obesity or a body mass index of 27 or higher who also have at least one weight-related medical condition such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Like other weight loss drugs, it’s to be used with diet and exercise.

More than half of the participants in the trial lost 15-20 percent of their weight. “I've been involved in this field for about 20-plus years, and it was the first time that we saw such significant weight loss in some people,” Rubino said. “And the reason it actually matters is there are a lot of medical conditions that are associated with obesity that we need more weight loss...

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/fda-approves-diabetes-drug-for-weight-loss/ar-AALybSF

[roamer65]

1. Metformin is also used off label for weight loss.

[appalachiablue]

2. I've heard the name but didn't know

what condition it's used to treat. Good to know.

An NIH report on their study says metformin is effective.

- Effectiveness of metformin on weight loss in non-diabetic individuals with obesity. Nov. 12, 2012.

.. Results: The mean weight loss in the metformin treated group was 5.8±7.0 kg (5.6±6.5%). Untreated controls gained 0.8±3.5 kg (0.8±3.7%) on average. Patients with severe insulin resistance lost significantly more weight as compared to insulin sensitive patients. The percentage of weight loss was independent of age, sex or BMI.

Conclusion: Metformin is an effective drug to reduce weight in a naturalistic outpatient setting in insulin sensitive and insulin resistant overweight and obese patients. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23147210/

[roamer65]

3. I'm on it for T2 diabetes.

It definitely does suppress appetite.

[appalachiablue]

5. Glad to know that, thanks..

[I_UndergroundPanther]

6. I have diabeties

I take metformin and glimperide.

What is t2?

[roamer65]

7. Type 2.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

8. Duh.

I have type 2..duh'oh

[roamer65]

10. Ur fine.

I just past over the borderline of 6.5 on my A1C, so doctor put me on it. I hafta say it is helping a lot.

[left-of-center2012]

9. Metformin gives me severe abdominal cramps

Tried to take it two different times and it made me sick.

[roamer65]

11. It takes getting used to.

I had to ramp up the dose slowly.

Now at 1000 mg with little problem.

There are other T2 diabetes drugs if you cannot tolerate metformin.

[left-of-center2012]

14. I'm on two forms of insulin

I inject morning and night

[I_UndergroundPanther]

20. It gave me horrible cramps

And the shits from hell...

But after that initial suffering my body grew to stop reacting to it.

[usaf-vet]

4. ///

[Hekate]

12. KnRnBookmarking

[Hekate]

13. My only question is how the FDA approves this after a 24-person trial, but COVID drugs...

…which have been given to tens of millions are still awaiting approval last I heard?

Just asking. I’ve had my 2 COVID jabs. I’ve also gained weight in lockdown, and boy oh boy would I love a magic elixir for that.

[Sgent]

15. Two reasons:

1) It was a much bigger trial (about 1500 I think). That specific doctor had 24 patients.

2) Its been on the market for a long time so its not a complete new drug, just a new dose and indication of an existing drug.

[Hekate]

19. Oh, thank you. That makes sense.

[left-of-center2012]

16. Faces Reimbursement Challenges

Newly Approved Obesity Drug Wegovy Holds Promise, But Faces Reimbursement Challenges

Novo Nordisk hasn’t revealed Wegovy’s list price, but hinted that it will be similar to the price of its drug Saxenda, a weight loss treatment that retails at $1,300 per month without insurance.

There’s the issue of how payers will view a drug like Wegovy and the obesity condition it treats. If seen as a lifestyle medication, Wegovy will invariably struggle to gain favor with payers. From smoking cessation to weight management to alopecia (hair loss), many insurers limit coverage of what they deem are lifestyle drugs.

Until now, the evidence suggest that many public payers (Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges) view weight loss treatments as lifestyle medications, which they’re reluctant to pay for.

Indeed, insurance coverage for obesity treatments remains very uneven. By statute, all Medicare plans are precluded from covering weight loss medications. Further, a study examining coverage in the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act exchange markets of obesity drugs only 7 state Medicaid programs covered any of the (weight loss) drugs, and among 136 exchange plans merely 11% had some coverage for any of the drugs.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2021/06/05/obesity-drug-wegovy-holds-promise-but-faces-reimbursement-challenges/?sh=5d3dff4c4bd5

[Ilsa]

17. What pisses me off is

that weight isn't necessarily a lifestyle issue. Hypothyroidism, aging, changing hormones, stress, genetics, etc are all factors in being underweight or overweight. The insurance companies know this.

[Aristus]

18. It's more a lifestyle issue than some patients will admit, or are even aware of.

In the history of my medical practice, I've had uncountable numbers of patients who thought they were living healthy lifestyles. Lifestyles that included copious consumption of "healthy" beverages such as Gatorade and Powerade. These drinks are jam-packed with sugar, which can worsen obesity, diabetes, and any number of other conditions associated with both.

I tell them how bad these things are for them, and that it's not necessarily their fault for believing they were health drinks. Advertising works. It wouldn't be a billion-dollar industry if it didn't. Once I educate them on issues like these, their obesity, diabetes, etc tend to improve with gratifying speed.

The problem with sugar, especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, is that it's in everything, even food items we don't associate with sweetness, i.e. ketchup, mustard, some types of breads, etc.

Sugar can be nearly inescapable unless a consumer is paying close attention to the ingredients in the foodstuffs he or she is buying.