An Ozempic box and contents sit on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, England, on October 31, 2023.
George Frey | Reuters
Novo Nordisk investors appeared unfazed on Thursday by a scathing Harvard University report that linked its weight-loss drug to a rare eye disease.
Semaglutide, found in weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, may be linked to an increased risk of a rare eye disease, a study says. study It was conducted by Harvard Medical School.
But analysts said the study’s findings are “by no means game-changing.” Shares in the Danish drugmaker were little changed Thursday, up 0.1 percent as of 11:17 a.m. London time after falling in early morning trading.
A Harvard University report found that patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity who were prescribed semaglutide were at increased risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which can lead to loss of vision in one eye. Compared to patients who were not prescribed the weight-loss drug, the patients were more likely to be diagnosed with the eye disease, the study found.
The study suggests “some correlation” with rare eye conditions, but the quality of the evidence is “very low and the margin of error is very wide,” said Emmanuel Papadakis, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
The worst-case scenario would be further updates to the warning sections of drug labels, but this would “do very little to change the situation,” Papadakis said.
He added that Deutsche Bank generally views semaglutide as “one of the most reduced-risk treatments in the history of the industry from a safety perspective.”
A Novo Nordisk spokesman said the optic nerve disease Nion “This is not an adverse reaction to marketed semaglutide formulations,” as stated in the approval label. The researchers added that the study had “important methodological limitations,” including the “small number of people” with type 2 diabetes or obesity who were exposed to semaglutide and participated in the trial.
“Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk and we take all reports of adverse events resulting from the use of our medicines very seriously,” the spokesman said.
The popularity of its blockbuster drugs has made Novo Nordisk the most valuable company in Europe, with a valuation that exceeded Denmark’s total gross domestic product last year.
Wegobee has been shown to have health benefits beyond helping with weight loss and regulating blood sugar levels: In March, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Wegobee for use in reducing the risk of heart disease.
But the drug has come under scrutiny after some patients reported experiencing gastroparalysis and suicidal thoughts while taking it, and a study by researchers at the University of British Columbia pointed to an increased risk of intestinal blockages, which block food from passing through the small and large intestines, and pancreatitis.
The drug’s label already carries the following warning: Pancreatitis and Specific types Intestinal blockage is a possibility. Vision changes are also listed as a potential side effect for both Ozempic and Wegovy.
The US study published on Wednesday analysed data from 16,827 patients between December 2017 and November last year. The researchers noted that further research was needed to assess whether semaglutide caused eye disease.
CNBC’s Jenny Reed contributed to this report.