Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, published a new analysis of the longest study she has performed so far through her long-term weight loss goal.

The study with 17604 people, published in Naturopathy and SHOW at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, Italy on Tuesday, showed for the first time that obese patients without diabetes maintained an average weight loss of 10% over four years after taking Wegovy.

“We see that once most of the weight loss is achieved, you don't go back and start gaining weight if you stay on the drug,” said Martin Holst Lange, Novo's head of development. Reuters in an interview.

The findings show that Wegovy is effective in the long term, for many years, provided patients stick to it.

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An additional analysis released Tuesday based on the same data showed that Wegovy had heart benefits regardless of how much weight study participants lost while taking it.

Wegovy reduced the risk of stroke by 20% in overweight or obese people with a history of heart disease.

Researchers don't know exactly how Wegovy's active ingredient, semaglutide, protects the heart, and are conducting studies to find out.

“We also now understand that while we know that body weight loss is important, it is not the only thing that drives the cardiovascular benefit of semaglutide treatment,” Lange told Reuters on Tuesday.

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The news could add to Novo's case for its weight-loss drugs to be more widely covered by insurance companies in countries like the US and the UK.

Still, there were downsides to taking Wegovy recorded in the report — about 17% of those who took the drug dropped out of the study early because of stomach-related issues like nausea.

Novo has made Wegovy available in 10 countries so far, including the US, Norway, Japan and Spain, since the drug's release in 2021. Prices start at $200 and can reach almost $2,000 a month. depending on the country.

In the US, Ozempic goes for approx $936 per month out of pocket while Wegovy sells for approx $1350 per month.

Costco created a program in April that gives members direct access to Ozempic and Wegovy when appropriate, though the cost of the drugs falls directly on customers or health insurance.

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Novo said earlier this month that at least 25,000 people in the US start Wegovy per week.