Early real-world data suggests that the pill form of Wegovy, used for weight management, may be particularly effective for people who have gained weight relatively recently.
Researchers analysed health data from 3,011 patients who had been prescribed the Wegovy pill and had their weight recorded again within 180 days of starting treatment.
According to Reuters, the analysis found that people whose weight gain had occurred more recently were more likely to become what researchers described as super responders patients who lost more than 10 per cent of their starting body weight during treatment.
The likelihood of achieving this level of weight loss was significantly higher among people who had gained weight in recent years compared with those whose weight gain had continued over a longer period.
The study was led by Venk Soundararajan of data analytics company nference. He said the findings suggested that regardless of whether a person was 30, 60 or 90 years old, those who had gained substantial weight over the previous five years might be more likely to lose that additional weight within several months of treatment. People who had experienced prolonged weight gain, however, appeared to respond differently.
The average starting weight of Wegovy pill users classified as super responders was around 207 pounds (94.1kg), compared with 224.21 pounds (101.7kg) among those who did not achieve the same level of weight loss.
Researchers also found that patients who achieved greater weight loss were more likely to have increased their dose beyond the initial 1.5mg by the 60th day of treatment.
The analysis also found improvements in blood pressure among people taking the Wegovy pill, with greater reductions observed among those who lost more weight.
Wegovy pills were approved in the United States in December last year. None of the patients included in the analysis had previously used other GLP-1 medications, allowing researchers to examine the outcomes associated with the Wegovy pill separately.
However, experts cautioned against treating the findings as conclusive. The analysis has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, and the researchers acknowledged that the results do not establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.
The authors said further, more rigorous studies are needed to determine whether a person’s history of weight gain before starting treatment can reliably predict how they will respond to Wegovy.
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