February 7, 2020 — The decade just past brought quite a bit of change in drugs used to treat obesity. At the beginning of the decade, options were few. Prescribing was almost nil. Now we have five new drugs for obesity. For type 2 diabetes, weight-sparing drugs have taken a dominant role in prescribing. One of those drugs, liraglutide, […]
November 5, 2019 — Success begets success. That’s a core message we’re taking away from a late-breaking forum on emerging anti-obesity medicines. Pharmaceutical researchers reviewed an impressive range of innovations that promise to set a higher bar for effective obesity care. All of this came before ObesityWeek kicks into high gear today. Building Upon Success Mads Tang-Christensen opened the […]
March 13, 2018 — It’s a tale of two obesity drug makers. One – Orexigen – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday. Orexigen markets Contrave, a combination drug made from bupropion and naltrexone. The other company – Novo Nordisk – is building upon the early success of its obesity drug, Saxenda (liraglutide 3mg). Why are the fortunes of these two companies so […]
October 19, 2017 — This is a big week for semaglutide – a promising cousin of liraglutide. Research is ongoing to figure out just how good it will be in both type 2 diabetes and obesity. And the milestones this week were all about diabetes. But you can find some encouragement for the obesity indication, too. Unanimous Support from FDA’s […]
September 27, 2017 — Could it be that a little fine-tuning for the stomach can have a real effect on obesity? That’s the gist of the latest research on how liraglutide (Saxenda) works. The senior author on this study, Michael Camilleri, explains: Liraglutide appears to be very effective in inducing weight loss over three months of treatment. We also […]
August 28, 2017 — It’s official as of Friday. Liraglutide (Victoza) is not only for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity. FDA now says it also effectively prevents heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths. This new information applies to people taking it for diabetes who also have heart disease. A Dramatic, Ongoing Shift in Diabetes Care This news represents […]
June 25, 2017 — This past week saw three bits of steady progress on the new generation of obesity drugs: lorcaserin, liraglutide, and semaglutide. It’s all movement in the right direction. Lorcaserin Cardiovascular Outcomes Study Progressing Nicely A huge cardiovascular outcomes study is underway with 12,000 patients receiving either lorcaserin (Belviq) or a placebo. The goal is to learn […]
April 29, 2017 — Making progress in obesity care continues to be a slow and steady business. Nearly 100 million Americans have this complex chronic disease. But it’s so stigmatized that most people don’t really want to think about it – let alone seek care. But progress continues, with a steady climb on all fronts. News from Novo Nordisk – now […]
February 23, 2017 — An impressive new three-year study of 3 mg liraglutide for obesity (Saxenda) finds that this therapy provides a large reduction in the risk of developing diabetes in people who have prediabetes. Published yesterday in Lancet, investigators found an 80% reduction in the risk of progressing to diabetes. In a post-hoc analysis, they made further assumptions […]
October 31, 2016 — Over the last four years, four new obesity meds gained approval and only one lived up to expectations in the marketplace – the Saxenda brand of liraglutide 3 mg from Novo Nordisk. The company reported quarterly results last week. Saxenda sales, growing impressively, are on track to surpass $200 million for the year. Net profit for […]
