The diabetes medication Ozempic, also marketed as the weight loss drug Wegovy has demonstrated another health benefit. According to new clinical trial data presented at a conference in Stockholm, semaglutide, the active ingredient in both drugs reduces the risk of kidney failure and death in individuals with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Also Read: Fish Oil Supplements May Increase Risk of Stroke and Heart Issues
Semaglutide injections lowered the risk of severe kidney events by 24%. The study was conducted with about 3,500 participants across 28 countries who had both type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.
Severe outcomes (loss of kidney function, kidney failure, death from kidney or cardiovascular causes) occurred 331 times among those treated with semaglutide versus 410 events in the placebo group.
When scaled by follow-up years, there were 5.8 events per 100 years among those on semaglutide compared to 7.5 events per 100 years in the placebo group.
kidney function declined more slowly in the semaglutide group. The risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack was reduced by 18%. The risk of death from any cause was reduced by 20% among those treated with semaglutide.
Diabetes is a leading risk factor for kidney disease which is a leading cause of death worldwide. Approximately 1 in 3 people with diabetes also has chronic kidney disease. High blood sugar levels in diabetics can damage kidney blood vessels and strain the heart.
Semaglutide showed benefits beyond kidney protection including heart protection and overall mortality reduction.
Semaglutide is already approved in the US for treating type 2 diabetes (as Ozempic) and obesity (as Wegovy).
Participants were followed for an average of 3½ years. The study ended early due to the promising results observed. An independent monitoring committee recommended early termination of the trial.
Dr. Vlado Perkovic, a nephrologist and provost at the University of New South Wales Sydney, stated, “The effect size was a bit larger than we had expected, and therefore, the results were highly statistically significant.”
There are three other drug treatments that provide benefits for diabetic kidney disease. Clinicians must now consider the order and priority of using semaglutide.
More than two-thirds of the trial participants were at very high risk of severe outcomes such as kidney failure and cardiovascular events.
Many patients are unaware of their kidney disease until it reaches later stages. Routine testing for kidney disease in diabetics is recommended but not always practiced.
The manufacturer of semaglutide, Novo Nordisk, based in Bagsværd, Denmark, had earlier halted the kidney-disease trial due to overwhelmingly positive results.
An independent data-safety monitoring board recommended stopping the trial as it was deemed unethical to continue giving a placebo to some participants. The detailed analysis of the trial data was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Also Read: MP Craig Mackinlay Returns to Parliament After Sepsis-Related Amputations
The phase IIIb trial involved 3,533 participants and demonstrated that those receiving weekly injections of semaglutide were 24% less likely to experience major kidney disease events including kidney failure and death due to kidney complications compared to those who received a placebo.
Kidney failure characterized by the inability of one or both kidneys to function independently often necessitates dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Participants treated with semaglutide also exhibited a 29% reduction in the risk of death from heart attacks and other major cardiovascular events and a 20% reduction in the risk of death from any cause during the trial period.
According to Samir Parikh, a nephrologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, “The connections between kidney disease and heart disease are very strong and self-reinforcing, particularly in the presence of type 2 diabetes, which exacerbates the damage to small blood vessels in the heart and kidneys.”
Katherine Tuttle, a nephrologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Spokane and co-leader of the trial expressed enthusiasm over the benefits observed in patients with chronic kidney disease.
This population has not seen a reduction in cardiovascular-related deaths, unlike the general population, which has experienced a 30% drop in heart disease death rates between 1990 and 2019 due to better healthcare and lifestyle changes.
Vlado Perkovic, a nephrologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and another co-leader of the trial.
He noted that while traditional treatments for chronic kidney disease such as blood-pressure medications, provide limited kidney protection, newer options, including sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have begun to show promise.
Also Read: Infected Blood Scandal: The Biggest Ever NHS Disaster
The trial specifically focused on the progression of kidney disease unlike previous trials that incidentally observed kidney benefits while assessing the drug’s effects on other conditions like heart disease.
Participants receiving semaglutide showed a healthier estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function and lower levels of albumin in their urine indicating less leakage from blood vessels in the kidneys.
Although the exact mechanisms by which Ozempic benefits the kidneys are not fully understood, researchers speculate that it may involve multiple factors including reduced inflammation.
Further research is needed to determine if these benefits extend to people with chronic kidney disease who do not have diabetes and how semaglutide compares to other medications like SGLT2 inhibitors.
Ozempic’s potential to tackle a variety of conditions beyond obesity and diabetes is gaining increasing attention.
The drug has shown promise in reducing the risk of serious heart events by 20% as demonstrated in another trial that led to an expanded approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of Wegovy.
The implications of these findings are given the high prevalence of chronic kidney disease which affects an estimated 37 million Americans or about one in seven adults, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Novo Nordisk is expected to seek FDA approval to expand Ozempic’s label to include treatment for chronic kidney disease.
While the results are promising, there are ongoing concerns about the cost and supply of semaglutide. Kidney injury has been reported as a potential side effect and the FDA label for the drug indicates this risk.
The latest trial did not find an increased risk of acute kidney injury associated with Ozempic, regardless of baseline kidney function.
Also Read: Plant-Based Diets Reduce Cancer and Heart Disease Risks, 20 Years Study Finds
