A recently released study found that the Novo Nordisk diabetes drug Ozempic significantly lowers the risk of opioid overdoses in some patients, suggesting its potential as an approach to treating opioid use disorder. The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, a medication shown to be closely associated with a significantly reduced risk of opioid overdose compared with other diabetes medications among patients diagnosed with both Type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
Results have emerged relevant in the context of the active opioid epidemic within the United States, declared a public health emergency by the country since 2017. The present treatment options for opioid use disorder embrace three highly effective medications aimed at preventing overdoses, but many patients do not choose to utilize them. A huge proportion of them stop treatment within six months,” said Dr. Rong Xu, lead study co-author and professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve University. Just 25 percent of patients with opioid use disorder received recommended medications in 2022, according to the authors.
It forms part of an emerging body of evidence that suggests that GLP-1 medications like Ozempic may provide benefits beyond a primary use for treatment of blood sugar regulation or weight management. Novo Nordisk and other industry players, like Eli Lilly, are actively investigating its use for the treatment of several chronic diseases, including kidney disease and addiction.
Researchers examined the electronic health records of nearly 33,000 patients who were prescribed either semaglutide or other diabetes treatments between December 2017 and June 2023. The study, which was not funded by Novo Nordisk, established that among roughly 3,000 patients who received semaglutide injections, there were 42 cases of opioid overdose, compared to 97 cases in those treated with insulins and older GLP-1s. This translates to a 58% lower risk of opioid overdose among users of semaglutide.
However, Dr Xu warned that because the study was based on electronic health records, its scope was limited and overall, more studies were needed in order to validate such findings and to understand implications arising from semaglutide when treating opioid use disorder.
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