aAt some point this summer, drugmaker Novo Nordisk will release the results of a closely monitored study that, if successful, could further uncork demand for new obesity drugs, streamline insurance coverage for the therapies, and demonstrate long-term health benefits .
The Select Trial, as the study is called, is the first large, randomized trial to test whether long-term treatment with a weight-loss drug can meaningfully improve patients’ cardiovascular health. Novo is testing Wegovy, a weekly injection also sold under the brand name Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, against placebo in the five-year study.
The implications are huge, and not just for Novo. Wegovy is part of a class of drugs that target the hormone GLP-1, which suppresses patients’ appetites. Those drugs have shown they can help people lose dramatic amounts of weight in clinical trials, but payers, including Medicare, have been slow to reimburse them without definitive data on their long-term health benefits.