FDA approves higher dose of Wegovy

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved a higher dose of the Wegovy weight loss drug.

The manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, increased the semaglutide injection by 4.8 mg to total 7.2 mg.

The company says the higher dosage is recommended for those who taken the lower dose already for at least four weeks. Novo Nordisk is expected to launch the new dosage next month. 

Prior to Thursday, the highest approved dose of the Wegovy injectable for weight loss was 2.4 mg.

FDA Commissioner Martin Makary said the increase was approved as a part of the regulatory agency’s push to create “unprecedented efficiency” on products that advance national priorities.

Last July, the FDA revealed its new national priority voucher plan to help promote drug affordability by cutting review times to one to two months if the drug in question meets national health priorities. 

In a trial, people taking the higher dose reported losing an average of 20.7 percent of their body weight, compared with 15 percent for those who used the lower dose, CNBC reported.

“We are excited to bring Wegovy HD injection to adults with obesity who are looking for powerful weight loss, as no other weight loss medicine has been studied to show superiority to Wegovy HD,” Jamey Millar, executive vice president of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, said in a statement. 

“In addition to significant weight loss, Wegovy is the only GLP-1 for adults with obesity that is proven to reduce the risk of events such as stroke, heart attack, or cardiovascular death in those who also have known heart disease,” Millar added.