INDICATIONS

WEGOVY is indicated as an adjunct to a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of:

• 30 kg/m² or greater (obesity) or
• 27 kg/m² or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition (e.g., hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, or dyslipidemia)

Limitation Of Use

• WEGOVY contains semaglutide and should not be coadministered with other semaglutide-containing products or with any other GLP-1 receptor agonist.
• The safety and effectiveness of WEGOVY in combination with other products intended for weight loss, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and herbal preparations, have not been established.
• WEGOVY has not been studied in patients with a history of pancreatitis

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Patient Selection

Select patients for WEGOVY treatment as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management based on their BMI. BMI is calculated by dividing weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) squared. A chart for determining BMI based on height and weight is provided in Table 1.

Table 1. BMI Conversion Chart

Important Administration Instructions

• Prior to initiation of WEGOVY, train patients on proper injection technique. Refer to the accompanying Instructions for Use for complete administration instructions with illustrations.
• Inspect WEGOVY visually prior to each injection. Only use if solution is clear, colorless, and contains no particles.
• Administer WEGOVY once weekly, on the same day each week, at any time of day, with or without meals.
• Administer WEGOVY subcutaneously in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. The time of day and the injection site can be changed without dose adjustment.
• If one dose is missed and the next scheduled dose is more than 2 days away (48 hours), administer WEGOVY as soon as possible. If one dose is missed and the next scheduled dose is less than 2 days away (48 hours), do not administer the dose. Resume dosing on the regularly scheduled day of the week.
• If more than 2 consecutive doses are missed, resume dosing as scheduled or, if needed, reinitiate WEGOVY and follow the dose escalation schedule, which may reduce the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms associated with reinitiation of treatment.

Recommended Dosage

Table 2. Dose Escalation Schedule

• Initiate WEGOVY with a dose of 0.25 mg injected subcutaneously once-weekly and follow the dose escalation schedule in Table 2 to minimize gastrointestinal adverse reactions.
• If patients do not tolerate a dose during dose escalation, consider delaying dose escalation for 4 weeks.
• The maintenance dose of WEGOVY is 2.4 mg injected subcutaneously once-weekly.
• If patients do not tolerate the maintenance 2.4 mg once-weekly dose, the dose can be temporarily decreased to 1.7 mg once-weekly, for a maximum of 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, increase WEGOVY to the maintenance 2.4 mg once-weekly. Discontinue WEGOVY if the patient cannot tolerate the 2.4 mg dose.
• In patients with type 2 diabetes, monitor blood glucose prior to starting WEGOVY and during WEGOVY treatment.

HOW SUPPLIED

Dosage Forms And Strengths

Injection: clear, colorless solution available in 5 pre-filled, disposable, single-dose pens:

Storage And Handling

WEGOVY injection is a clear, colorless solution in a pre-filled, disposable, single-dose pen-injector with an integrated needle in the following packaging configurations:

Recommended Storage

Store the WEGOVY single-dose pen in the refrigerator from 2°C to 8°C (36°F to 46°F). If needed, prior to cap removal, the pen can be kept from 8°C to 30°C (46°F to 86°F) up to 28 days. Do not freeze. Protect WEGOVY from light. WEGOVY must be kept in the original carton until time of administration. Discard the WEGOVY pen after use.

Manufactured by: Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Allé DK-2880 Bagsvaerd, Denmark. Revised: Jun 2021

SIDE EFFECTS

The following serious adverse reactions are described below or elsewhere in the prescribing information:

• Risk of Thyroid C-Cell Tumors
• Acute Pancreatitis
• Acute Gallbladder Disease
• Hypoglycemia
• Acute Kidney Injury
• Hypersensitivity
• Diabetic Retinopathy Complications in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
• Heart Rate Increase
• Suicidal Behavior and Ideation

Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

WEGOVY was evaluated for safety in 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials that included 2116 patients with overweight or obesity treated with WEGOVY for up to 68 weeks and a 7 week off drug follow-up period. Baseline characteristics included a mean age of 48 years, 71% women, 72% White, 42% with hypertension, 19% with type 2 diabetes, 43% with dyslipidemia, 28% with a BMI greater than 40 kg/m², and 4% with cardiovascular disease.

In clinical trials, 6.8% of patients treated with WEGOVY and 3.2% of patients treated with placebo permanently discontinued treatment as a result of adverse reactions. The most common adverse reactions leading to discontinuation were nausea (1.8% versus 0.2%), vomiting (1.2% versus 0%), and diarrhea (0.7% versus 0.1%) for WEGOVY and placebo, respectively.

Adverse reactions reported in greater than or equal to 2% of WEGOVY-treated patients and more frequently than in placebo-treated patients are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Adverse Reactions Occurring in ≥ 2% of WEGOVY-treated Patients and More Frequently than with Placebo

Acute Pancreatitis

In WEGOVY clinical trials, acute pancreatitis was confirmed by adjudication in 4 WEGOVY-treated patients (0.2 cases per 100 patient years) versus 1 in placebo-treated patients (less than 0.1 cases per 100 patient years). One additional case of acute pancreatitis was confirmed in a patient treated with WEGOVY in another clinical trial.

Acute Gallbladder Disease

In WEGOVY clinical trials, cholelithiasis was reported by 1.6% of WEGOVY-treated patients and 0.7% of placebo-treated patients. Cholecystitis was reported by 0.6% of WEGOVY-treated patients and 0.2% of placebo-treated patients.

Hypoglycemia

Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

In a trial of patients with type 2 diabetes and BMI greater than or equal to 27 kg/m², clinically significant hypoglycemia (defined as a plasma glucose less than 54 mg/dL) was reported in 6.2% of WEGOVY-treated patients versus 2.5% of placebo-treated patients. A higher rate of clinically significant hypoglycemic episodes was reported with WEGOVY (semaglutide 2.4 mg) versus semaglutide 1 mg (10.7 vs. 7.2 episodes per 100 patient years of exposure, respectively); the rate in the placebo-treated group was 3.2 episodes per 100 patient years of exposure. In addition, one episode of severe hypoglycemia requiring intravenous glucose was reported in a WEGOVY-treated patient versus none in placebo-treated patients. The risk of hypoglycemia was increased when WEGOVY was used with a sulfonylurea.

Patients without Type 2 Diabetes

Episodes of hypoglycemia have been reported with GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus. In WEGOVY clinical trials in patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus, there was no systematic capturing or reporting of hypoglycemia.

Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury occurred in clinical trials in 7 patients (0.4 cases per 100 patient years) receiving WEGOVY versus 4 patients (0.2 cases per 100 patient years of exposure) receiving placebo. Some of these adverse reactions occurred in association with gastrointestinal adverse reactions or dehydration. In addition, 2 patients treated with WEGOVY had acute kidney injury with dehydration in other clinical trials. The risk of renal adverse reactions with WEGOVY was increased in patients with a history of renal impairment (trials included 65 patients with a history of moderate or severe renal impairment at baseline), and occurred more frequently during dose titration.

Retinal Disorders In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

In a trial of patients with type 2 diabetes and BMI greater than or equal to 27 kg/m², retinal disorders were reported by 6.9% of patients treated with WEGOVY (semaglutide 2.4 mg), 6.2% of patients treated with semaglutide 1 mg, and 4.2% of patients treated with placebo. The majority of events were reported as diabetic retinopathy (4.0%, 2.7%, and 2.7%, respectively) and non-proliferative retinopathy (0.7%, 0%, and 0%, respectively).

Increase In Heart Rate

Mean increases in resting heart rate of 1 to 4 beats per minute (bpm) were observed with routine clinical monitoring in WEGOVY-treated patients compared to placebo in clinical trials. In trials in which patients were randomized prior to dose-escalation, more patients treated with WEGOVY, compared with placebo, had maximum changes from baseline at any visit of 10 to 19 bpm (41% versus 34%, respectively) and 20 bpm or more (26% versus 16%, respectively).

Hypotension And Syncope

Adverse reactions related to hypotension (hypotension, orthostatic hypotension, and decreased blood pressure) were reported in 1.3% of WEGOVY-treated patients versus 0.4% of placebo-treated patients and syncope was reported in 0.8% of WEGOVY-treated patients versus 0.2% of placebo-treated patients. Some reactions were related to gastrointestinal adverse reactions and volume loss associated with WEGOVY. Hypotension and orthostatic hypotension were more frequently seen in patients on concomitant antihypertensive therapy.

Appendicitis

Appendicitis (including perforated appendicitis) occurred in 10 (0.5%) WEGOVY-treated patients and 2 (0.2%) patients receiving placebo.

Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions

In clinical trials, 73% of WEGOVY-treated patients and 47% of patients receiving placebo reported gastrointestinal disorders. The most frequently reported reactions were nausea (44% vs. 16%), vomiting (25% vs. 6%), and diarrhea (30% vs. 16%). Other common reactions that occurred at a higher incidence among WEGOVY-treated patients included dyspepsia, abdominal pain, abdominal distension, eructation, flatulence, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, and hemorrhoids. These reactions increased during dose escalation.

Permanent discontinuation of treatment as a result of a gastrointestinal adverse reaction occurred in 4.3% of WEGOVY-treated patients versus 0.7% of placebo-treated patients.

Injection Site Reactions

In clinical trials, 1.4% of WEGOVY-treated patients and 1.0% of patients receiving placebo experienced injection site reactions (including injection site pruritus, erythema, inflammation, induration, and irritation).

Laboratory Abnormalities

Patients treated with WEGOVY had a mean increase from baseline in amylase of 16% and lipase of 39%. These changes were not observed in the placebo group. The clinical significance of elevations in lipase or amylase with WEGOVY is unknown in the absence of other signs and symptoms of pancreatitis.

Immunogenicity

Consistent with the potentially immunogenic properties of protein and peptide pharmaceuticals, patients treated with WEGOVY may develop anti-semaglutide antibodies. The detection of antibody formation is highly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. Additionally, the observed incidence of antibody (including neutralizing antibody) positivity in an assay may be influenced by several factors including assay methodology, sample handling, timing of sample collection, concomitant medications, and underlying disease. For these reasons, the incidence of antibodies to semaglutide in the studies described below cannot be directly compared with the incidence of antibodies in other studies or to other products.

Across the clinical trials with antibody assessments, 50 (2.9%) WEGOVY-treated patients developed anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to the active ingredient in WEGOVY (i.e., semaglutide). Of the 50 semaglutide-treated patients that developed semaglutide ADAs, 28 patients (1.6% of the total WEGOVY-treated study population) developed antibodies cross-reacting with native GLP-1. The in vitro neutralizing activity of the antibodies is uncertain at this time.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been reported during post-approval use of semaglutide, the active ingredient of WEGOVY. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Gastrointestinal Disorders: acute pancreatitis and necrotizing pancreatitis, sometimes resulting in death

Hypersensitivity: anaphylaxis, angioedema, rash, urticaria

Renal and Urinary Disorders: acute kidney injury

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Concomitant Use With An Insulin Secretagogue (e.g., Sulfonylurea) Or Insulin

WEGOVY lowers blood glucose and can cause hypoglycemia. The risk of hypoglycemia is increased when WEGOVY is used in combination with insulin secretagogues (e.g., sulfonylureas) or insulin. The addition of WEGOVY in patients treated with insulin has not been evaluated.

When initiating WEGOVY, consider reducing the dose of concomitantly administered insulin secretagogue (such as sulfonylureas) or insulin to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia.

Oral Medications

WEGOVY causes a delay of gastric emptying and thereby has the potential to impact the absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. In clinical pharmacology trials with semaglutide 1 mg, semaglutide did not affect the absorption of orally administered medications. Nonetheless, monitor the effects of oral medications concomitantly administered with WEGOVY.