The European Union's medicines regulator found no evidence that a class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, which is widely popular, has been linked to suicidal thoughts. The statement was made on Friday (12) after a nine-month investigation.
After reviewing the available evidence, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which monitors drug side effects, said no updates to product information are warranted.
The discovery comes after the EMA in December extended its review into the class of weight-loss and diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists to obtain more data from drugmakers to further investigate the issue.
The review began in July after Iceland's health regulator flagged three cases of patients contemplating suicide or self-harm after using Novo's drugs. The review focused on medicines that contain semaglutide or liraglutide both compounds targeting GLP-1 .
Liraglutide is the active ingredient in weight loss treatment Saxenda da Novo while semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy and the top-selling diabetes treatment, Ozempic .
The EMA also analyzed around 170 other case reports on suspected adverse reactions recorded in the EU's EudraVigilance database.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's preliminary review in January found no link between GLP-1 drugs and suicidal thoughts or actions.
GLP-1 receptor agonists, originally developed to help control blood sugar in diabetes patients in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, also slow digestion and reduce appetite.
Source: CNN Brasil
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