(Bloomberg) -- Novo Nordisk A/S won the European Union regulator’s backing for use of its weight-loss drug Wegovy to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks, broadening the pool of potential patients for its blockbuster medicine.
The European Medicines Agency’s drug advisory panel said on Thursday that the decision is based on data from a large study, backed by Novo, that found Wegovy cut the risk of major heart afflictions by one-fifth.
Heart disease is still the number one killer in the world.
The decision comes after the UK also gave Wegovy expanded clearance earlier this week. It also follows the Food and Drug Administration’s decision in March to expand the obesity drug’s label to include reducing the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Broader approval is a cornerstone of the Danish drugmaker’s plan to persuade insurers and health systems to classify Wegovy not as a cosmetic treatment, but as a medicine that has a range of health benefits.
In the US, the expanded use led Medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly and some people on long-term disability, to allow coverage of Wegovy for heart disease. That opened up a pathway for millions of people to get it reimbursed even though it’s still not available on Medicare as an obesity treatment alone.
Novo has struggled to keep up with demand for both Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic, a diabetes treatment that shot to fame for its ability to pare pounds. Much of its supply of Wegovy has gone to the US market.
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