A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk is seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. Novo Nordisk 's blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic may decrease the risk of opioid overdoses in certain patients, demonstrating its potential as an alternative treatment for opioid use disorder, according to a new study released Wednesday. The active ingredient in Ozempic, semaglutide, was associated with a "significantly lower" opioid overdose risk than other diabetes medications in people diagnosed with both Type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder, said the paper published in JAMA Network Open. Around 3,000 people were prescribed semaglutide injections, while the remaining patients received treatments that ranged from insulins to older GLP-1s for diabetes. That reflects a 58% lower risk of opioid overdose in patients who took semaglutide, Xu said.

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Persons: Dr, Rong Xu, Eli Lilly, Lilly's, Xu Organizations: Novo Nordisk, JAMA, Case Western Reserve University, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Drug, U.S, National Institutes of Health, Novo Nordisk's Victoza Locations: London, Britain, Novo