Ozempic, Wegovy Drug Linked to Nearly 40% Fewer Asthma Attacks

Semaglutide, the medication found in the diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, was linked to nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks in a large real-world study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The same drug was also associated with about 20% fewer flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The study was led by Professor Chloe Bloom of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London and presented by Dr. Bohee Lee. "GLP-1 receptor agonists are widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. Previous research suggests they may have anti-inflammatory effects and may improve lung-related outcomes," Bloom said. "However, asthma and COPD outcomes have not been included as outcomes in GLP-1 drug trials. We wanted to use real-world health records to investigate whether people with asthma or COPD who started GLP-1 receptor agonists had fewer acute respiratory attacks."

Researchers analyzed UK electronic medical records in four parallel studies, each involving between 20,000 and 22,000 people who had started treatment with either a GLP-1 medication or a different diabetes drug called a sulfonylurea. People with asthma or COPD who received GLP-1 therapies experienced fewer asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups than comparable patients prescribed other diabetes medications, with semaglutide showing the strongest effect, particularly for asthma.

Bloom cautioned that the results are not enough to recommend the medications specifically as asthma or COPD treatments. "The findings from this study are encouraging, but they should not change treatment decisions on their own," she said. "People with asthma or COPD should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance. This needs confirmation in clinical trials."

Dr. Alexander Mathioudakis of the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the research, said obesity and metabolic dysfunction are common in airway disease and often under-recognized. "This is one of the largest real-world studies to investigate GLP-1 receptor agonists and airways disease, and one of the first to examine whether effects differ between individual GLP-1 receptor agonists," he said, adding that future trials of metabolic therapies should include respiratory outcomes such as asthma attacks and COPD exacerbations.