
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Novo Nordisk’s weight loss injection semaglutide — the ingredient inside its wildly popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy — could slash the risk of heart attacks and strokes whether patients lose weight when taking it or not, according to new research, a finding that bolsters the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/04/18/weight-loss-and-diabetes-drugs-like-ozempic-and-mounjaro-could-treat-sleep-apnea-and-parkinsons-too-here-are-other-conditions-scientists-are-looking-at/?sh=62e373b67f76">public health case</a>&nbsp;for the in-demand drug amid increasing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/05/13/bernie-sanders-urges-ozempic-maker-novo-nordisk-to-be-fair-over-outrageously-expensive-us-drug-prices/?sh=2d9c1973404c">concern over costs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/04/30/wegovy-is-available-again-after-shortages-fda-says-but-supplies-are-still-limited/?sh=4773390761b4">persistent supply issues</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Patients taking semaglutide had a 20% lower risk of heart attack, stroke or death due to cardiovascular disease after three years of treatment, according to an analysis of data from the five-year Select trial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02996-7" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">presented</a>&nbsp;at the European Congress on Obesity conference in Venice, Italy.</p>



<p>Select, which is funded by Novo, involves 17,604 overweight or obese adults over the age of 45 from 41 countries, all of whom have previously had a heart attack, stroke or peripheral artery disease but no diabetes, is the longest clinical trial of Wegovy.</p>



<p>While the cardiovascular benefits of Wegovy are now well recognized, including on the drug’s U.S. label, researchers found patients taking semaglutide received the drug’s cardiovascular benefits of the drug regardless of their starting weight or how much weight they lost when taking it.</p>



<p>University College London’s professor John Deanfield, who led the study, said the “findings have important clinical implications” and suggests semaglutide has another mechanism to lower cardiovascular risk other than reducing unhealthy body fat, adding that many more patients than are taking it now would likely benefit from the drug.</p>



<p>Other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2307563" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">research</a>&nbsp;based on Select data, also presented at the conference, found patients taking semaglutide were able to maintain weight loss after four years of treatment, which researchers said held across different ages, sexes and races.</p>



<p>Patients taking the drug for four years lost and sustained an average of 10% of their bodyweight while remaining on the medicine, the researchers found, compared to just 1.5% in the placebo group.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Novo’s semaglutide, alongside Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, the drug inside blockbusters Zepbound and Mounjaro, are at the forefront of a promising<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/03/13/ozempic-and-wegovy-rivals-here-are-the-companies-working-on-competitor-weight-loss-drugs/?sh=11ef23101f52"> class of drugs</a> called GLP-1 agonists causing a huge stir in public health and the pharmaceutical industry. The drugs mimic the action of a gut hormone that plays a role in regulating satiety and blood sugar. They were initially tapped to treat diabetes — such as Mounjaro and Ozempic — before being deployed to treat obesity and, more recently, cardiovascular disease. A <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/04/18/weight-loss-and-diabetes-drugs-like-ozempic-and-mounjaro-could-treat-sleep-apnea-and-parkinsons-too-here-are-other-conditions-scientists-are-looking-at/?sh=3724094f7f76">myriad of other conditions</a> could also benefit, according to growing reports and emerging research, including <a href="https://www.forbes.com/health/body/what-is-sleep-apnea/">sleep apnea</a>, addiction, anxiety, Parkinson’s, kidney disease and fatty liver disease. Obesity is an enduring public health issue in its own right and the weight loss industry is booming even without the health aspect, meaning demand for the drugs is often beyond supply. Both Novo and Lilly readily acknowledge they are unable to keep up and while a range of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/03/13/ozempic-and-wegovy-rivals-here-are-the-companies-working-on-competitor-weight-loss-drugs/?sh=73033ce21f52">competitors</a> from startups to pharma titans are rushing to get their own products to market, it is still <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/03/27/heres-why-ozempic-and-mounjaro-rivals-wont-topple-weight-loss-drugmakers-novo-nordisk-and-eli-lilly-anytime-soon/?sh=10a3819b2b38">going to be years</a> until these products make it and there is no guarantee they will equal or trump the incumbents.</p>


Weight Loss Drugs As US Prescriptions Skyrocket

Ozempic Drug Semaglutide Could Cut Heart Risk By 20%—Regardless Of Weight Loss, Study Finds


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Altimmune’s experimental weight loss drug pemvidutide minimized the loss of muscle mass while losing weight, mimicking the effects of diet and exercise, according to the results of a small trial by the company, amid efforts by biotech firms to study how increasingly popular weight-loss drugs can maintain muscle mass.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>In a mid-stage trial of pemvidutide, 74.5% of weight loss among 391 participants came from fat tissue while only 25.5% came from lean mass, results that are comparable to the effects “historically associated with diet and exercise,” Altimmune&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.altimmune.com/news-releases/news-release-details/altimmune-announces-positive-lean-mass-preservation-data" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;Wednesday.</p>



<p>The drug pemvidutide combines the GLP-1 hormone—a key ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy—with the hormone glucagon, a pairing the company is also testing to treat a common form of liver disease called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH.</p>



<p>Over 30% of participants using a 2.4-milligram dose of pemvidutide achieved a 20% weight loss through a 48-week trial of the drug, Altimmune&nbsp;<a href="https://ir.altimmune.com/news-releases/news-release-details/altimmune-announces-positive-topline-results-momentum-48-week" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;in November.</p>



<p>The Food and Drug Administration announced last year it would fast-track its evaluation of pemvidutide for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, a severe form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, after more than half of the 190 participants in a&nbsp;<a href="https://altimmune.com/pemvidutide/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">trial</a>&nbsp;had their liver fat content reduced to a normal level after 12 weeks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Other popular weight-loss drugs have been studied for their ability to maintain muscle mass while helping patients lose weight. During a 68-week&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183/suppl_file/nejmoa2032183_appendix.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">trial</a>&nbsp;of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, over 1,300 participants using the drug lost an average of nearly 15 pounds of lean muscle and 23 pounds of fat. BioAge Labs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231026896677/en/BioAge-Labs-Announces-Plans-for-Phase-2-Trial-of-First-in-Class-Apelin-Receptor-Agonist-BGE-105Azelaprag-Co-Administered-With-Tirzepatide-for-Treatment-of-Obesity-in-Collaboration-With-Lilly%E2%80%99s-Chorus-Organization" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;last year it would be testing its muscle loss drug azelaprag with Mounjaro to treat obesity, after an early trial indicated azelaprag could help prevent muscle atrophy.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Additional data from Altimmune’s mid-stage trial will be presented at an unspecified upcoming event, the company said. Results from a study involving pemvidutide’s treatment of MASH are expected in the first quarter of 2025.</p>


Hand of an elderly woman pouring a small assortment of pills onto the palm of her hand

What To Know About Pemvidutide—Altimmune Says Weight Loss Drug Minimized Muscle Mass Loss In Trial


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The diabetes drug Mounjaro will be tested alongside an experimental treatment to study how to maintain muscle mass while losing weight, according to an announcement Thursday—after earlier studies suggested some other increasingly popular weight-loss drugs may cause people to lose lean muscle mass. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>BioAge Labs will co-administer its muscle loss drug azelaprag with Mounjaro to treat obesity as part of a clinical trial in partnership with Mounjaro maker Eli Lilly’s development arm, Chorus, the two companies said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231026896677/en/BioAge-Labs-Announces-Plans-for-Phase-2-Trial-of-First-in-Class-Apelin-Receptor-Agonist-BGE-105Azelaprag-Co-Administered-With-Tirzepatide-for-Treatment-of-Obesity-in-Collaboration-With-Lilly%E2%80%99s-Chorus-Organization" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">joint statement</a>&nbsp;Thursday.</p>



<p>Early preclinical studies showed administering both azelaprag and Mounjaro—known generically as tirzepatide—in obese mice increased the total weight loss from Mounjaro, and led to “normalized body composition” and decreased glucose levels without an “appreciable decrease” in calorie intake, both companies said.</p>



<p>Kristen Fortney, chief executive of California-based BioAge, said administering azelaprag with Mounjaro “may help promote healthier weight loss.”</p>



<p>The trial is expected to begin in mid-2024, BioAge said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Azelaprag is a drug that mimics the activity of apelin, a substance that is released through the body after exercise, according to BioAge. Apelin also helps to regulate metabolism and promote muscle regeneration. The drug could “significantly” prevent muscle atrophy among older adults, according to one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221205005201/en/BioAge-Announces-Positive-Topline-Results-for-BGE-105-in-Phase-1b-Clinical-Trial-Evaluating-Muscle-Atrophy-in-Older-Volunteers-at-Bed-Rest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clinical trial</a>&nbsp;by BioAge in December involving 227 people age 65 or older.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/31/diabetes-drug-mounjaro-expected-to-be-approved-for-weight-loss-soon-what-to-know-and-how-it-compares-to-similar-drugs/?sh=111cc0ea477a">Mounjaro</a>—manufactured by Eli Lilly—is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, or a drug used to treat diabetes and weight loss, similar to the popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Mounjaro has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss, though&nbsp;<a href="https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2022/10/14/weight-loss-drugs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">some doctors</a>&nbsp;prescribe the drug for off-label use for weight loss in patients who don’t have type two diabetes, like Ozempic.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183/suppl_file/nejmoa2032183_appendix.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clinical trial</a>&nbsp;of semaglitude—the active ingredient in weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy—indicated it could result in nearly as much loss of lean muscle as pounds of fat. Participants lost about 15 pounds of lean muscle on average, compared with 23 pounds of fat during a 68-week trial. The average age of participants was 52.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>41.9%. That’s the percentage of adults age 60 or older in the U.S. who are obese,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html#:~:text=Obesity%20affects%20some%20groups%20more%20than%20others&amp;text=The%20obesity%20prevalence%20was%2039.8,adults%20aged%2060%20and%20older." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/01/31/diabetes-drug-mounjaro-expected-to-be-approved-for-weight-loss-soon-what-to-know-and-how-it-compares-to-similar-drugs/?sh=111cc0ea477a">Diabetes Drug Mounjaro Expected To Be Approved For Weight Loss Soon: What To Know And How It Compares To Similar Drugs</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-26/shredding-fat-without-muscle-is-lilly-s-next-weight-loss-target?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_content=business&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shedding Fat Without Losing Muscle Is Lilly’s Next Weight-Loss Target</a> (<em>Bloomberg</em>)<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/"></a></p>


Drug “Wegovy

New Trial Will Test Whether Weight Loss Drugs Can Work Without Shedding Muscle Mass

<p>It was an experience easier to drown in than describe – one of Romi Vidmar’s many hypnotherapy sessions in his small office in Northcliff, an affluent suburb in Johannesburg, South Africa.</p>
<p>As we meet, cars drive past on the busy road. Vidmar asks if I want to experience hypnotherapy.</p>
<p>I sit up straight on the black office chair, my hands on the brown armrest, and Vidmar makes suggestions in a calm voice.</p>
<p>“Visualize your wrist on the right arm. Feel it, imagine it and nod your head when you can. Imagine everything I say is happening because it would actually happen,” he says.</p>
<p>He makes some more suggestions and everything he says happens, until I am in a hypnotic state.</p>
<p>As he speaks, there is a sense of calm, vaguely familiar, akin to the countless times I found myself lost in thought, absorbed in a zone, or simply, daydreaming. The session lasts less than 10 minutes but has the effect of two hours of sleep.</p>
<p>“You are of supreme confidence,” he says as he closes the session.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/11/15/mental-virtual-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Mind&#8217;s Virtual Reality</a></p>
<p>Even though I had started the session as a sceptic, I feel more relaxed than I have ever been. As I pen this article, I still remember his soothing instructions. Twenty one days later, I feel more confident and have a brighter outlook on life.</p>
<p>“With hypnosis, the human mind goes into an even more relaxed state than meditation. The physical body becomes completely relaxed but the mind remains active,” says Vidmar, a software programmer who has always been interested in understanding how things work. The human mind is one of his major interests.</p>
<p>“I was very interested in hypnotherapy and started doing some research. It wasn’t easy because there wasn’t enough information and most of what was there was confused with entertainment and spiritualism but I discovered, through reading academic work, there is a solid basis for the hypnotic state which you just experienced now,” he says.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_34398" style="width: 511px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34398" class=" wp-image-34398" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Romi-Vidmar-e1510734243740-300x199.jpg" alt="Romi Vidmar hypnotherapy" width="501" height="332" /><p id="caption-attachment-34398" class="wp-caption-text">Romi Vidmar (Photo supplied)</p></div></p>
<p>In 2000, Vidmar trained to be a hypnotherapist and started practising.</p>
<p>“With hypnotherapy, I am able to understand the human mind and help people suffering from depression, anxiety, wanting to lose weight, stop smoking, gain confidence and many other things. For example, with people who have been abused, we help them not to forget but bring some degree of comfort so that they can be able to continue with their lives,” he says.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/09/12/many-suffer-silence-story-mental-illness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: &#8216;Too Many Suffer In Silence&#8217; &#8211; The Sad Story Of Mental Illness</a></p>
<p>According to Vidmar, hypnotherapy is witnessing a big boom in town. He sees eight patients a day at R800 ($60) for a one-hour session. Most of his clients, he says, just want to be happier, deal with depression and other mental issues, stop smoking or lose weight.</p>
<p>“Prescribing medication may be a lot quicker but the medical industry should explore hypnotherapy as a much more sustainable solution. Eighty to 90 percent of my clients see a change after the first session and they come back five or 10 years later but in that time they refer other people.”</p>
<p>Amanda Hoole (<em>name changed to protect identity</em>) is one of the many who claim hypnotherapy helped.</p>
<p>“I had many issues because I was abused as a child and I had a bit of a rebellious energy. I smoked a lot and was an alcoholic. Over the years, I have had hypnotherapy about six times. Now alcohol and cigarettes smell and I can’t stand them. I am even able to keep a job, which is something I couldn’t do for many years,” she affirms.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2014/02/01/mentally-strong-people-13-things-avoid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid</a></p>
<p>According to Vidmar, this effect is possible because hypnotherapy also comes with suggestibility, so much that it was used instead of anaesthesia more than 200 years ago.</p>
<p>“Some medical doctors even train so they can use hypnotherapy when treating patients, for example if a child is afraid of the needle or for women going through childbirth.”</p>
<p>He says hypnotherapy helps by interacting with the subconscious to address the whole mind rather than just treating the symptoms. Through the words used in the session, Vidmar says hypnotherapy replaces trauma with positivity and suggestions create long-term improvement.</p>
<p>“You are even able to deal with unresolved feelings. With hypnotherapy, we can go down to the deepest level of these traumatic experiences, memories and stored emotions to release them from the mind and body,” says Vidmar.</p>
<p>In fast-moving 21<sup>st</sup> century Africa, hypnotherapy may hold the answer to mental wellbeing, or could at least be one of the options to relieve trauma and stress.</p>


Tag: weight loss

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Ozempic Drug Semaglutide Could Cut Heart Risk By 20%—Regardless Of Weight Loss, Study Finds

What To Know About Pemvidutide—Altimmune Says Weight Loss Drug Minimized Muscle Mass Loss In Trial

New Trial Will Test Whether Weight Loss Drugs Can Work Without Shedding Muscle Mass

Is Hypnotherapy The Answer?