STORY
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved semaglutide, sold as Wegovy, for the treatment of metabolic-associated steatohepatitis in adults with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. The regulator said the approval applied to a form of liver disease involving scar tissue in the liver.
Semaglutide already has authorisations for weight management in adults and adolescents, as well as for reducing cardiovascular events in adults. The MHRA said its role was to ensure that medicines worked and were acceptably safe, with decisions based on evidence of benefits and risks.
The decision adds a further authorised use for the drug in the UK. The MHRA said patients should speak to healthcare professionals about treatment options and should follow prescribing advice for any medicine they are given.