Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital seem to have stumbled onto something unexpected—a weight-loss drug that might just have a side-benefit against COVID-19. According to a Harvard Gazette report, a trial study of the drug Wegovy, ordinarily prescribed for weight loss, has revealed potentially life-saving implications beyond just shedding pounds.
Across a sample size of more than 17,000 individuals with heart disease and overweight or obesity, Brigham and Women’s team found while running a trial from October 2018 through March 2023, that those who took Wegovy were dying less, about 15 percent less likely from cardiovascular diseases and 23 percent less from other causes, in comparison with the placebo group. Funded by Novo Nordisk, the trial noted a 19 percent lower overall death rate for the group receiving Wegovy. However, designed before COVID-19 hit the scene, the trial never intended to measure outcomes against respiratory pandemics.
Benjamin M. Scirica, director of quality initiatives at BWH’s Cardiovascular Division and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, “It is rare for a cardio-metabolic drug to modify non-cardiovascular outcomes.” He added, in a statement relayed by the Harvard Gazette, “The fact that semaglutide reduced non-cardiovascular death, and in particular COVID-19-related deaths, was surprising. It opens up new avenues for exploring how this class of drugs may benefit patients.”
Despite equal chances of contracting the virus, people jabbing themselves with Wegovy weekly had fewer instances of serious illness or deaths due to COVID-19. The researchers cannot pinpoint if the cause is purely the weight loss or other effects of the drug—suggesting that extra weight might be a significant contributor to lower life expectancy. The results that have sparked interest were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Novo Nordisk had a hand in everything from study design to manuscript review.
Scirica has some ties to the industry, reporting grants and consulting fees from several pharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk. Additional studies are on the table to figure out just why Wegovy might be helpful in the fight against COVID-19 and to replicate these findings that have opened unexpected doors in drug impact research. As for the patients in the study, the outcome could mean a significant shift in how treatments are approached for those with heart conditions associated with weight issues, not just for cardiovascular health, but perhaps in fortifying defenses against future viral threats as well.
