U.S. approves first weight loss pill, says pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk

(AFP) Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk announced Monday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the popular anti-obesity drug GLP-1 Wegovy to be administered in pill form for weight loss. 

"With today's approval of the Wegovy pill, patients will have a convenient once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection," Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in a statement.

This clearance should allow more Americans access to these weight-loss treatments, considered by many experts to be revolutionary.

A new generation of appetite-suppressant drugs called GLP-1 agonists became popular in recent years.

Known by their trade names Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro, these drugs emerged a decade ago as diabetes treatments and, more recently, are used to facilitate weight loss.

But, prior to this authorization of the drug in pill form, the treatments required regular injections, refrigeration and could be prohibitively expensive.

The World Health Organization (WHO) backed the GLP-1 drugs, which are effective against overweight and diabetes, in early December, saying they could become a key tool in curbing obesity, which affects more than a billion people worldwide.