Reuters
Novo Nordisk's Ozempic slowed the worsening of kidney dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and lowered the risk of kidney failure, heart problems, stroke and death, according to detailed results from a late-stage trial presented on Friday. The company in March reported that the diabetes drug known chemically as semaglutide cut the combined risk of kidney complications and cardiovascular events by 24% over the next 3.4 years in patients who received weekly 1-milligram injections compared with those who got a placebo. The benefits observed in the trial "reflect important clinical effects on kidney, cardiovascular, and survival outcomes among high-risk patients ... and support a therapeutic role for semaglutide in this population," study leader Dr. Vlado Perkovic of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia said in a statement.