Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) authorized, this Tuesday (26), the use of semaglutide, in weekly doses of up to 2.4 mg, for the treatment of overweight and obesity in adolescents aged 12 and over.
The medicine, whose trade name is Wegovy, has the same active ingredient as Ozempic (approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes), but in a higher dose regimen.
“Obesity is a disease that can begin in childhood or adolescence, and up to 90% of adolescents with obesity can continue to live with the disease into adulthood. These patients are also at greater risk of developing serious weight-related health problems,” the drug manufacturer said in a statement.
The study presented by the laboratory proved that adolescents with obesity who used 2.4 mg of semaglutide weekly had an average reduction of 16.1% in BMI (body mass index).
The same medicine had already been approved by Anvisa for adults, in January this year. Sales in Brazil, however, have not yet started.
The drug “mimics” a hormone that our intestine releases after meals and which acts on brain receptors that control appetite, the feeling of satiety and hunger, GLP-1.
