UK approves semaglutide (Wegovy) to treat a form of liver disease

This is the latest in a growing trend wherein official medicine regulatory bodies are approving the use of GLP-1s for conditions beyond diabetes and weight management. Previous to this announcement, Britain had already approved Wegovy for use in managing cardiovascular disease.

“The available evidence indicates that semaglutide is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with MASH. As with all GLP-1 receptor agonists, this is a prescription-only medication and should only be taken in consultation with a doctor,” said MHRA Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access Julian Beach.

Beach further stressed that, much like all other GLP-1s currently available in the U.K., semaglutide is a prescription-only medication and must only be taken following a consultation with a licensed healthcare professional.

The MHRA approved Wegovy for use against MASH in adults with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis, or scar tissue forming in the liver, under the terms of a “conditional marketing authorization,” which means Wegovy is available only under specific circumstances if the MHRA still does not have sufficiently comprehensive clinical data but that this data is in the process of being gathered and will be made available soon.

The MHRA’s approval was given on the condition that the treatment results be submitted to an ongoing study and presented to the regulatory agency to help further evaluate Wegovy’s efficacy and safety.

British medical authorities have further agreed to review new information regarding semaglutide “at least every year.”

The agency has further stated directions for use of Wegovy, including that the starting dose of 0.25 mg once weekly be increased to doses of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 1.7 mg, with at least four weeks per dosage size, and up to a maximum of 2.4 mg once weekly as a maintenance dose.

Dosage sizes can be increased up to 7.2 mg once weekly after a minimum of 4 weeks on the 2.4 mg once weekly dose, but only for patients with a body mass index (BMI) over 30.

The MHRA has yet to give its full approval for Wegovy to be used by all eligible patients under the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), pending the results of the treatment on participants in the ongoing study. Following this study, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will further appraise Wegovy’s clinical and cost-effectiveness as a treatment option for MASH.

However, NHS patients are already able to receive Wegovy, should their physicians prescribe it, for diabetes management, weight management, and, just recently, for managing cardiovascular disease.

Back in April, Britain approved the use of Wegovy for people with a BMI of 27 or higher and who have had a heart attack, stroke, or symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.