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After revolutionizing the weight-loss drug market, Novo Nordisk (NVO-2.09%) and Eli Lilly (LLY-2.92%) are setting their sights on heart health.
Both pharma giants unveiled new clinical trial results over the weekend, highlighting potential cardiovascular benefits of their medications.
Novo Nordisk shared fresh data on semaglutide — the active ingredient in its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. One study found that a weekly 2.4 mg dose led to a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events — such as heart attack, stroke, or death — among overweight or obese patients with existing cardiovascular disease, compared with a control group.
Another study examined its daily semaglutide pill, Rybelsus, which showed a 14% reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes and some combination of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, compared with a placebo.
Novo Nordisk’s chief rival, Eli Lilly, also released new heart health data. It said its experimental drug lepodisiran lowered levels of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) — a particle linked to cardiovascular disease — by 94% with a single injection.
About 20% of Americans have high levels of Lp(a), which can double the risk of a heart attack and is linked with conditions like stroke and aortic valve stenosis. However, it remains unclear whether lowering Lp(a) levels translates into fewer heart attacks and strokes and large-scale clinical trials are underway to answer that question.
These latest findings build on previous efforts by both companies to explore their medications’ effects on heart health.
“Novo Nordisk continues to evolve its focus beyond diabetes and obesity towards a broader spectrum of metabolic and cardiovascular health,” Martin Holst Lange, the company’s executive vice president for development, said in a press release.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded Wegovy’s approved use after Novo Nordisk announced that the drug cut the risk of serious heart events by 20% in a clinical trial.
Meanwhile, in August, Lilly said that tirzepatide — the active ingredient in its weight-loss drug Zepbound — helped reduce heart failure risks in obese patients. Patients who took tirzepatide were 38% less likely to be hospitalized, require increased heart failure medication, or die from heart failure compared than those who received a placebo.
Novo Nordisk’s shares gained 0.9% in U.S. trading on Monday, while Eli Lilly’s stock declined about 1%.