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Novo Nordisk launched its Wegovy weight loss pill in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, making the Gulf state the first country outside the U.S. to receive the oral version of the drug.
Approval from the Emirates Drug Establishment came earlier this week, covering two applications: weight management and the reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, in adults with obesity or overweight who also have established cardiovascular disease.
The Wegovy pill is the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management. In the OASIS 4 clinical trial, the 25 mg dose taken once daily produced roughly 17% mean weight loss in adult participants with obesity or overweight who had at least one additional health condition, the company said. About one in three participants in that trial lost 20% or more of their body weight.
Speaking about how Novo Nordisk will sequence additional rollouts, Emil Kongshøj Larsen, the company's executive vice president of international operations, cited three deciding factors: whether sufficient patient demand exists, whether local clinicians are equipped to prescribe the drug, and whether the underlying healthcare and telehealth systems can sustain long-term obesity treatment. "The UAE has demonstrated strong momentum across all of these areas, and we look forward to bringing Wegovy pill to additional select countries in the coming months," he said in a statement.
