Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy cleared to treat live disease MASH

Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy was cleared by U.S. regulators on Friday to treat an increasingly common liver disease, adding to the list of conditions for which the blockbuster therapy is now approved. 

The Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Wegovy for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, with moderate to advanced liver scarring. The decision was based on Phase 3 results showing that the drug helped improve liver scarring, or fibrosis, and resolve symptoms.

Many people with obesity develop fatty liver disease, which can then progress to a severe form that is MASH. MASH causes fibrosis, which can then advance to even more serious scarring called cirrhosis, which then leads to liver cancer or the need for a liver transplant.