The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) has recommended an authority-required PBS listing for Wegovy (semaglutide, Novo Nordisk) for adults who have established cardiovascular disease with obesity.
In the outcomes of its November meeting released this afternoon, the PBAC specified that patients must have already experienced a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, stroke, or have symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.
Taking into account the risks posed by excess weight in cardiovascular disease and the high cost of treatment, PBAC also recommended PBS access is limited to people with a BMI of 35 kg/m² or higher, or 32.5 kg/m² or higher for people of Asian, Aboriginal, or Torres Strait Islander ethnicity.
In giving the drug the nod, PBAC acknowledged the importance of weight loss to support patients’ ability to adhere to other cardiac health improving interventions such as exercise and dietary changes.
The PBAC also provided advice to Health Minister Mark Butler to ensure equitable subsidised access to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for the treatment of obesity, potentially opening the door to more applications for PBS listing.
