![\"Weight-Loss](\"https:\/\/c.ndtvimg.com\/2023-12\/vp1lr09o_drugs-bloomberg_625x300_02_December_23.jpeg\"\/ "\\"Weight-Loss")
<\/div>\nThe European Medicines Agency started investigating the issue in July. (Representational)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The European Union’s drugs regulator has asked pharma companies including Novo Nordisk A\/S and Eli Lilly & Co. for more information as it reviews the potential risk of suicidal thoughts associated with a new class of weight-loss medicines.<\/p>\n
The European Medicines Agency started investigating the issue in July after reports of suicidal thoughts and self-harm from people who had been taking the anti-obesity drugs. The review is focused on so-called GLP-1 treatments, a class that includes Novo’s Wegovy weight-loss shot as well as its diabetes medicine Ozempic. The drugs are among the hottest sellers in pharma.<\/p>\n
In a statement Friday, the EMA’s safety committee said it had reviewed all clinical trial evidence and published literature on the subject, adding: “While at this point no conclusion can be drawn on a causal association, there are several issues that still need to be clarified.”<\/p>\n
The committee has agreed further lists of questions to be addressed by the makers of these medicines and said it will discuss the topic again at its meeting in April.<\/p>\n
Though their use for weight loss is comparatively recent, GLP-1 drugs have a more than 15-year history as treatments for diabetes. The EMA investigation also includes dulaglutide, the active ingredient in Lilly’s diabetes medicine Trulicity, and AstraZeneca Plc’s diabetes drug Byetta.<\/p>\n
“Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority,” a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg Friday. “We will continue to respond to the regulatory reviews regarding safety signals related to dulaglutide as part of our routine regulatory review processes.”<\/p>\n
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n