Novo’s big reveal: GLP-1 drug semaglutide cuts cardio risks, but just may blind you
First, the good news for Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug semaglutide: The drug reduced the number of major cardio events by 26% among high-risk patients in a late-stage trial.
Now, the bad news: There was a significant spike in diabetic retinopathy among patients taking semaglutide — with an unexpectedly higher rate of blindness — and they also dropped out of the drug arm at a faster pace.
The big number that Novo will focus on as it preps for an expected approval: 39%, which measures a major reduction in the risk of stroke. There was also a drop in the rate of heart attacks in the drug arm, but researchers say that it wasn’t statistically significant.
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