Doctors in the UAE have welcomed the news that anti-obesity drug Wegovy is set to become available as a pill as well as an injection, but have cautioned that it should only be taken under expert medical supervision.
Wegovy is one of the new wave medications that in recent years have had a huge impact on people looking to lose weight.
Earlier this week the US Food and Drug Administration approved the US release of a pill version of the drug, which is set to become the first daily oral medication to combat obesity.
The UAE medicines regulator, the Emirates Drug Establishment, has yet to give the medication the green light for sale in the emirates.
Dr Ali Aldibbiat, a consultant in diabetes and endocrinology at Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City, said that since the release, earlier this year, of trial data for the medication, “the anticipation for the oral Wegovy pill has been mounting”.
Encouraging results
“We never had a weight-loss pill that can lead to such a large weight loss, reaching an average of 16.6 per cent,” he said.
“What is even more exciting is that the new Wegovy pill is an oral form of semaglutide, a molecule that has a well-established and robust legacy of safety and efficacy.
“The FDA approval is confirmation of the great value of the oral Wegovy pill in obesity management, and certainly represents a step closer to our patients in the UAE having access to this innovative treatment.”
Novo Nordisk, the Danish company behind Wegovy, said earlier this week that the medication achieved long-term weight reductions and “reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events”.
The company expects to launch the pill, which would be taken once a day, with each tablet containing 25 mg of semaglutide, in the US in January next year.
According to Novo Nordisk, the weight loss achieved with the pill version of Wegovy is similar to that seen when people inject the drug at a dose of 2.4 mg.
The oral form of Wegovy will be the first GLP-1 drug – a term that refers to the hormone that the medicines mimic – available as a pill.
Supervision is key
Aswathi N S, a dietitian for Aster Cedars Hospital and Clinic in Dubai, said that the introduction of a pill form of a medication such as Wegovy “may improve convenience and adherence for certain patients”.
“However, it also reinforces the importance of appropriate medical supervision,” she said. “Any medication intended for weight management acts on complex metabolic and hormonal pathways, and its use should be individualised based on a person’s health status, medical history, and nutritional needs.”
She described weight-loss medications as “not stand-alone solutions” and said they should always be part of a structured treatment plan that includes changes to diet and lifestyle, and regular follow-ups with healthcare professionals.
“It is important that such medications are not viewed as quick fixes or substitutes for long-term healthy behaviours,” she said.
“Education, realistic expectations, and continuous monitoring play a key role in ensuring safe and effective outcomes.
“Before initiating any form of weight-loss medication injectable or oral, it is essential to seek expert medical and nutritional advice.”
Semaglutide, which Wegovy contains, delays the release of food from the stomach and so reduces the extent to which a person feels hungry and wants to eat.
With sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets causing obesity to become a major issue in the UAE and neighbouring countries, Novo Nordisk has previously reported “huge increase in demand” in the region for the drug.
Another drug from Novo Nordisk, Ozempic, also contains semaglutide, but is aimed primarily at treating type 2 diabetes rather than obesity.
Rival GLP-1 medications from the American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly contain tirzepatide. They are branded as Mounjaro to combat type 2 diabetes and Zepbound to achieve weight loss.
As well as helping to reduce weight, these medications have been shown in trials to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke and, it has been reported, to reduce the impact of other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These include high blood sugar levels, high cholesterol levels, hypertension or high blood pressure and a large waist size.
Cautious optimism
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK, said that he was “glad a pill version” of Wegovy had been developed. It was, he said, “a pretty good breakthrough”.
However, he cautioned that drugs such as Wegovy may not be a permanent fix for people looking to maintain a healthier weight.
“We don’t know for sure that this is a long-term solution,” he said. “What happens when you stop taking Mounjaro or Wegovy and the weight returns back? This is the critical issue.
“Short term it works, without a doubt it works. Long term how can we maintain that weight loss? More work is required on a long-term solution.
“In the short term without a doubt these drugs work and they work very well.”
A study looking at patients in Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan and the US who had taken Mounjaro found that 82 per cent regained at least 25 per cent of the weight that they had lost once they stopped their injections. In nearly a quarter of patients, at least 75 per cent of the weight loss was reversed.
In a statement released this week, Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said that with the release of the pill version of Wegovy, patients would “have a convenient, once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection”.
The FDA’s approval for the pill version of Wegovy came just a few days after the European Medicines Agency gave a positive opinion for a higher dose of the drug to be injected.
In trials individuals with obesity but not diabetes achieved an average weight loss of 20.7 per cent at 72 weeks on a 7.2 mg dose of the drug.
Responding to the news from the EMA, Dr Cecilia Radu, general manager at Novo Nordisk UAE, said that the firm was “looking forward to bringing new innovation to the UAE and taking bold steps to fight obesity”.
“It also shows the besides tackling weight loss, this is a strong disease-modifying therapy for health risk reduction. It’s part of a much bigger picture,” she said.
