Obesity Treatment Drug 'Wegovy' Approved by US FDA
Phase 3 Clinical Trials Underway in Korea... Results Expected Within Years
However, Some Experts Express Concerns Over Unconfirmed Side Effects
Will the era come when dieting is done not through diet control and exercise, but with 'medicine'?
The U.S. diet industry is partnering with pharmaceutical companies. This follows the revelation that newly approved obesity treatments have weight loss effects.
The U.S. financial media outlet The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 10th (local time) that the largest U.S. diet company, Weight Watchers, is planning a diet drug service.
Weight Watchers is a company that provides diet services such as protein supplements, diet management, and exercise programs. However, since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of obesity treatments, the number of members has noticeably decreased. As of 2020, Weight Watchers had 5.03 million paid members, but by the end of last year, 3.5 million remained, with a loss of 1.5 million members.
In response, Weight Watchers appears to be partnering with pharmaceutical companies to expand its service area to obesity treatments. WSJ commented, "New drugs are tearing apart the long-held belief that weight loss depends solely on exercise and willpower."
In June 2021 and June last year, respectively, the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the world's first once-weekly injectable obesity treatment, Wegovy. Prior to approval, Wegovy underwent a Phase 3 clinical trial involving 1,960 obese patients. The trial results confirmed that patients' weight decreased by an average of 15% after 68 weeks of treatment.
Before Wegovy, there was the obesity treatment drug Saxenda. Approved by the FDA in 2014 and in Korea in March 2018, this drug suppresses appetite by prolonging post-meal satiety. However, Saxenda had the inconvenience of requiring a daily injection into body parts such as the thigh.
Wegovy, approved in Europe and the U.S., is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials in Korea as well. According to the clinical trial approval status on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's website as of the 11th, Novo Nordisk is conducting clinical trials for △ once-daily oral Wegovy (50 mg) △ once-weekly subcutaneous injection Wegovy (2.4 mg) △ subcutaneous injections of 'Cagrilintide and Wegovy,' with results expected between August 2023 and October 2024 depending on the drug.
It is already reported that many people in the U.S. are losing weight with Wegovy. Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed his diet secret as "intermittent fasting and Wegovy." Singer Kim Kardashian also stated that she lost weight rapidly after taking Wegovy. According to WSJ, the diet drug market grew to an annual size of $75 billion (about 100 trillion KRW) last year.
However, warnings about drug misuse continue. Dan Chard, chairman of the weight loss food company Medifast, told WSJ, "It may take several years to discover the side effects of these drugs," adding, "There are concerns about side effects that have not yet been studied."
In fact, there have been many cases where appetite suppressants were banned after side effects were revealed later. The 'Fen-Phen diet,' approved in the 1990s, was banned due to heart disease-related side effects. The appetite suppressant 'Dexatrim' was also withdrawn after reports linked it to an increased risk of stroke.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
