新闻中心/News center
More complete data from a clinical trial of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight loss drug have rekindled the debate over how the treatment will affect patient demand for medical devices and procedures.
The findings from the SELECT study, presented at a major heart meeting over the weekend, showed a 20% reduction in risk on a composite goal of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death, compared to a placebo, in overweight and obese patients with heart disease. But the data were inconclusive on a narrower measure of cardiovascular death alone.
The data overall confirm a cardiovascular benefit for patients, but mixed results on secondary endpoints do not alter the outlook for heart device makers such as Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Edwards Lifesciences, Mizuho analyst Anthony Petrone said Monday in a report to clients.
“At first blush, we see the final SELECT data as neutral for cardiovascular names,” he wrote.
Shares in medical device companies have come under pressure since the initial SELECT study data pointing to the reduction in cardiovascular risk were released in August. Investors’ concerns have centered on whether Wegovy and other GLP-1 agonists could reduce the need for medical devices to treat diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
“Taken collectively, the data did not provide substantially more [cardiovascular]-benefit learnings versus the August 8th headline,” Petrone said.
The study also showed that Wegovy lowered pre-diabetic patients’ risk of developing an elevated HbA1c level by about 73%, according to Mizuho’s note, with implications for manufacturers of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).
