Alamy
The GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide (Ozempic; Novo Nordisk) reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events across patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus regardless of their baseline cardiovascular risk level, a secondary analysis of trial data has found[1]
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Researchers looked at data from a trial involving 3,297 people with type 2 diabetes and either clinical or subclinical cardiovascular disease. They were randomly assigned to either semaglutide (0.5mg/week or 1.0mg/week) or placebo, plus usual care.
Over a median follow-up of 2.1 years, the overall reduction in risk of major cardiovascular events was 26%. The researchers found that there was no significant difference in risk reduction between those with a prior history of myocardial infarction or stroke and those without, nor between those with established cardiovascular disease and those without.
“The results of these post-hoc analyses provide further evidence of the consistent cardiovascular risk reduction [of semaglutide] in people with type 2 diabetes,” said lead author Stephen Bain, who presented the results at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany, on 25–29 August 2018.
Semaglutide was authorised by the European Medicines Agency in February 2018, but is not yet available in the UK.
References
[1] Bain S, Rea R, Warren M et al. 2018. Semaglutide consistently reduces cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes regardless of baseline cardiovascular risk level: post hoc analyses of the SUSTAIN trial programme. Eur Heart J 2018;39(suppl_1), pp.ehy565-P2859.
