The Zhitong Finance App learned that in a large-scale placebo-controlled study, the Danish pharmaceutical giant NVO.US (NVO.US) introduced simeglutide with the title of “weight loss elixir” drastically reduced the number of kidney-related adverse events in obese and overweight people by 22%. The analysis was based on the SELECT international trial conducted by the company, which tested the 2.4 mg dose of Wegovy (the official trade name for simeglutide) compared to a placebo control group as an additional supplement under standard care, covering more than 17,000 overweight or obese adults.

According to information, Professor Helen Colhoun from the University of Edinburgh is the main author of this major study. She announced the findings at the European Kidney Science Conference held in Stockholm on Saturday.

“By addressing key indicators of kidney health, simeglutide may help significantly reduce the risk of all kidney-related complications, including chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease.”

According to information, the Danish pharmaceutical giant has well documented the kidney-related benefits of simeglutide in the past. As early as March of this year, the company stated that the 1.0 mg dose of GLP-1 receptor agonists combined with standard care methods contributed to a significant reduction in the risk of major events related to kidney disease by 24% in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Novo Novo and Eli Lilly (Eli Lilly), the strongest competitor in the weight loss medicine, is also testing its weight loss drug tirzepatide (tirzepatide) for kidney-related diseases. The company's stock price fell after news of the kidney benefits of weight loss under Novo Nordisk was announced.

Some media quoted Novo Nordisk's spokesperson as reporting that the latest data “proved for the first time the new benefits of 2.4 mg of simeglutide in improving kidney function in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease, overweight or obesity, and no diabetes. The demand for kidney protection among these people has clearly increased dramatically.”

As early as August of last year, the company stated that the SELECT study aimed at evaluating the benefits of simeglutide on the human heart had reached its main goal, and weekly injections could drastically reduce adverse cardiovascular risk events such as stroke by 20%.

According to the latest survey data recently released by KFF, a well-known health research institute, 1 out of every 8 American adults has tried the rapidly growing novel diabetes and anti-obesity drugs, including Ozempic (simeglutide) by Novo Nordisk, which has the title of “magic drug for weight loss,” and Zepbound by Eli Lilly, which highlights the rapid pace of popularization of these treatments among adults. The KFF survey also showed that of those who tried injecting this weight loss drug, about half are still taking it. The new poll was conducted at the end of April. Nearly 1,500 adults were sampled online and by phone in English and Spanish.

Diet pills Mounjaro and Zepbound, owned by American pharmaceutical giant LY.US (LLY.US), and drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy under Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) are penetrating the American population. In the US, the incidence of diabetes and obesity has been rising steadily for decades.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence research data, the market size of such weight loss drugs is expected to reach at least 80 billion US dollars by 2030. Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs's expectations are even more optimistic. A Goldman Sachs forecast report shows that by 2030, the annual sales of the global anti-obesity drug market may grow to around 100 billion US dollars, while the annual sales volume in early 2023 was only 6 billion US dollars. The World Obesity Federation (WOF) predicts that by 2035, more than 4 billion people (more than half of the world's population) may have varying degrees of obesity.