The Safety Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started reviewing several weight loss and diabetes medications. In particular, data on the risk of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm would be checked, among other things, for the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy (active ingredient semaglutide) and Saxenda (active ingredient liraglutide), the EMA announced in Amsterdam. Specifically, it is about so-called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
The review was prompted by the Icelandic Medicines Agency following reports of suicidal thoughts and self-harm in patients taking liraglutide and semaglutide. So far, the authorities have received and are analyzing about 150 reports of possible cases of self-harm and suicidal thoughts. The review is expected to be completed in November.
Medicines containing the two active substances are widely used and it is not yet clear whether the reported cases are related to the medicines themselves or to the patients’ underlying diseases or other factors, the EMA said.
The head of the Danish manufacturer Novo Nordisk recently announced that the weight loss product Wegovy, which is causing a lot of attention, is also to be launched in Germany at the end of July. Wegovy, with the active ingredient semaglutide originally developed for diabetes, has been approved in the EU since the beginning of 2022 and is intended to support weight loss and control together with diet and exercise. According to studies, it enables an average weight loss of about 15 percent.
The active ingredient is hyped on social media, also because some celebrities are said to have lost weight. When asked about the secret of his appearance in addition to fasting, tech billionaire Elon Musk mentioned the name of the drug.