Novo Nordisk says stopping obesity drug may cause full weight regain in 5 years

A player is pictured during his "Futbol de Peso" (Soccer of Weight ) league soccer match, a league for obese men who want to improve their health through soccer and nutritional counseling, in San Nicolas de los Garza
A player is pictured during his "Futbol de Peso" (Soccer of Weight ) league soccer match, a league for obese men who want to improve their health through soccer and nutritional counseling, in San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico, September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

March 29 (Reuters) - Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) official said on Wednesday.

Based on individual profile, patients could gain back about half of the original body weight in two to three years if they stop the treatment, the Danish drugmaker's head of global drug discovery, Karin Conde-Knape, told a health conference organized by CNBC.

The comments signal that the weight regain could be slower than previously known.

Data from a Novo-funded study in April last year showed that patients regained two-thirds of their lost weight one year after discontinuing the use of the drug.

The data had pointed to the chronic nature of obesity and suggested that continuous treatment would be required to maintain weight and health improvement.

Wegovy, a semaglutide-based drug, is approved in the U.S. for treatment of obesity in adults. The drug activates GLP-1, a hormone that triggers the feeling of fullness in the body after eating.

Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila

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