When Novo Nordisk AS launched anti-obesity drug Wegovy (semaglutide) in the US in June 2021, physicians and patients could not get enough. Supplies quickly ran out, even though the drug is not covered by government insurers Medicare or Medicaid. “This drug is at least twice as effective as anything we’ve seen before,” said Louis Aronne, professor of metabolic research at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Comprehensive Weight Control Center. “We are inundated with patients.”
Trials of Wegovy, a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 agonist, showed a 15% average weight loss, in combination with diet and exercise,...
