Overview

• Novo Nordisk presented a real-world analysis of more than 21,000 patients with obesity and cardiovascular disease showing Wegovy users had a 57% greater reduction in heart attack, stroke or death than tirzepatide users.
• Among patients treated longer than 30 days, 2.4 mg Wegovy users recorded 15 events (about 0.1%) versus 39 events (0.4%) on tirzepatide, according to conference data.
• The findings are observational, not peer-reviewed, and were unveiled at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid; Eli Lilly had not responded as of the reports.
• Coverage remains constrained as GLP-1 costs weigh on budgets, with employer plans that reimburse them seeing these drugs exceed 10% of prescription claims and GoodRx reporting a steep rise in people lacking commercial coverage for Zepbound along with widespread prior authorization.
• A multi-payer study of roughly 23,000 semaglutide users found no near-term medical cost savings and higher inpatient spending, and CMS negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act aim to post maximum fair prices by early 2026 for 2027 implementation.