Novo Nordisk Eyes Obesity Prevention, Aiming to Address Risk Before It Begins

　　Cailian Press

Novo Nordisk Global President and CEO Zhou Fude mentioned in the latest interview that, as the developer of the "weight-loss wonder drug" semaglutide, this Danish company hopes to make further progress in the weight-loss field and seek to develop drugs for obesity prevention.

According to reports, Novo Nordisk has established a department focused on "preventive transformation," utilizing artificial intelligence and advanced analytical technologies to gain a deeper understanding of obesity as a disease. Zhou Fude stated that experimental data can provide clues as to why some people are more prone to gaining weight, and may even help the company develop the first batch of drugs for obesity prevention.

The report claims that Novo Nordisk's "largest asset" is a trial named “SELECT”, a large-scale study covering more than 17,000 people mainly used to observe their medication responses. It also collects DNA, blood, and other samples over the long term.

SELECT (The Impact of Semaglutide on Heart Disease and Stroke in Overweight or Obese Patients) is a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of semaglutide 2.4mg versus placebo in reducing MACE risk, on top of standard care, in overweight or obese individuals with established CVD but no history of diabetes.

Zhou Fude said that Novo Nordisk will combine these data with large public resources such as the UK Biobank, "We will study these data to understand who will suffer from obesity? What are the characteristics of these patients?" He added that focusing on prevention can give the company a new advantage in an increasingly competitive weight loss market.

Currently, the Western weight-loss drug market is temporarily dominated by "Wegovy" (Wegovy), making Novo Nordisk the most valuable company in Europe. However, with the launch of Eli Lilly's competing product, Novo Nordisk's monopoly might be challenged. It is reported that Eli Lilly’s Tirzepatide has a stronger weight-loss effect compared to Semaglutide.

In this regard, Zhou Fude indicated that a preventive approach could more comprehensively address a tough issue: weight regain after patients stop taking medication. Researchers believe that the body drives patients to consume more food to restore their weight to a certain level. Therefore, if patients prevent obesity from the start, things would be much easier.

Novo Nordisk's Executive Vice President of Research and Development, Martin Holst Lange, stated that preventing obesity will become the "Holy Grail," and added that currently, genetic factors have only been found to increase the risk of obesity in about 5% of cases. He hopes to gain more insights from SELECT in the coming years.

"We haven't even scratched the surface," said Lange, who is in the early stages of the research but is already "a little excited" as the study has already shown the potential of the data. Scientists will later look for patterns in genomics, epigenetics, and proteomics, and may also explore issues such as how drugs might encourage people to eat healthier.

Nadeem Sarwar, head of the "Prevention Transformation" department, stated that obesity is a "particularly complex area to treat," where biological risks are intertwined with social, cultural, and behavioral factors. In addition to researching potential preventive drugs, Novo Nordisk is also interested in identifying individuals who are at risk of obesity within the next two to five years. The company is looking for ways to use digital solutions to communicate this risk so that they can modify their behavior.

Lydia Alexander, the president-elect of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, said that some clinicians have begun to consider using the term "pre-obesity," similar to how they use "prediabetes" to prevent diabetes. She also mentioned that when people visit a doctor, they should be asked about their family history of obesity, just as they would be for other diseases.

Alexander said, "As soon as we start recognizing obesity as a disease process and not just a careless lifestyle, we can start thinking about it this way." In today's world, there are few preventive drugs for obesity, and many people don't even consider obesity a disease, let alone spend money on prevention.

But Sarwar of Novo Nordisk stated that the cost savings from preventing diseases could be enormous. Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays, also believes that if Novo Nordisk can develop such a treatment, the prospects would be very promising.