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Eli Lilly’s “Mounjaro” has expanded its indication into the cardiovascular <a href="https://healthylife7.com/unc-secures-35m-for-rare-disease-ai-data-project/” title=”UNC Secures $35M for Rare Disease AI Data Project”>disease field. Provided by Getty Image Bank
“Mounjaro,” a popular obesity and type 2 diabetes treatment from US-based Eli Lilly, has received additional approval in the United States as a therapy that reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. After Denmark’s Novo Nordisk secured cardiovascular protection indications for “Ozempic” and “Wegovy,” the competition between the two companies that are leading the global obesity drug market has now expanded into the cardiovascular field.
According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 31st, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the 28th (local time) approved Mounjaro as a treatment that reduces the risk of cardiovascular events in adult patients with type 2 diabetes.
Mounjaro is a dual-acting GLP-1/GIP agent. When food is consumed, two hormones—glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)—are secreted and promote insulin secretion. GLP-1 also regulates appetite and satiety, producing a weight-loss effect.
This additional approval is based on the results of a large-scale Phase 3 clinical trial in which Mounjaro was randomly compared with the cardiovascular drug “Trulicity.” The trial followed 13,299 adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease for four years, dividing them into a Mounjaro treatment group and a Trulicity treatment group.
In the clinical trial, 12.1% of patients in the Mounjaro group and 13% in the Trulicity group experienced death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke. This confirmed that Mounjaro further reduced the risk of cardiovascular events and death compared with an existing cardiovascular treatment.
Previously, in March 2024, Wegovy received approval for an indication to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke in overweight or obese adults with cardiovascular disease, based on the results of a large-scale clinical trial.
Ozempic, which uses the same active ingredient (semaglutide) as Wegovy and is prescribed as a type 2 diabetes treatment, obtained its indication earlier, in January 2020, for adult type 2 diabetes patients with cardiovascular disease.
With this expanded indication for Mounjaro, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk—already locked in global competition in the obesity treatment market—have widened their battleground to the cardiovascular disease treatment arena. Competition between the two companies for prescribing dominance in clinical practice is expected to intensify further
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