The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Friday that its safety monitoring group found no definite link between popular GLP-1 drugs used for diabetes and weight loss, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, and thyroid cancer, in following an analysis that lasted several months.
The EMA expert committee reviewed the non-clinical, clinical and post-marketing data related to these medicines and concluded that no update of the prescribing information for these treatments is necessary at this time.
Since April, the agency has been monitoring the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs), a class of drugs used for diabetes and weight loss that includes Ozempic and Wegovy, for signs that suggest a increased risk of thyroid cancer.
The safety panel reviewed data on Ozempic, a popular diabetes drug made by the Danish company Novo Nordisk, and the weight loss treatment Wegovy, which contains the same active ingredient, semaglutide.
The expert panel also assessed data on two other medicines produced by Novo Nordisk: Victoza, used for diabetes, and Saxenda, used to treat obesity, which contain liraglutide.
Competitors such as Eli Lilly’s Trulicity (dulaglutide) and British company AstraZeneca’s Bydureon (exenatide) were also part of the review.
The panel noted that manufacturers of these drugs should continue to closely monitor safety issues and report any new data to regulatory authorities.
In July, the EMA initiated a review of the GLP-1 group of drugs after Iceland’s health regulator reported three cases of patients reporting suicidal thoughts or self-harm after using the Novo drugs.
GLP-1 receptor agonists, originally developed to help control blood sugar in patients with diabetes, also have effects that slow digestion, reduce hunger, and are used off-label for weight loss. For example, Mounjaro, a similar diabetes drug produced by the American company Eli Lilly, is used off-label for weight loss.
Source: 360medical.ro
More news on republikanews.ro.
You can find us on the RepublikaNews Facebook page.
2023-10-28 12:14:48
#EMA #thyroid #cancer #linked #drugs #Ozempic #Wegovy #republikaNEWS
