Novo Nordisk's Wegovy Outperforms Eli Lilly's Tirzepatide In Reducing Risk Of Heart Attack, Stroke, And Death: Study

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) presented data from the STEER real-world study of evidence gathered from actual patient experiences at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2025.

The STEER study investigated the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) with Wegovy (semaglutide) 2.4 mg compared with Eli Lilly and Co.’s (NYSE:LLY) tirzepatide treatment in people with overweight or obesity and established CVD without diabetes.

Data

Compared with tirzepatide, Wegovy showed a significant 57% greater risk reduction for heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death or death from any cause, in people with overweight or obesity and CVD, while on treatment with no treatment gaps of more than 30 days. 

There were 15 (0.1%) of these cardiovascular events recorded with Wegovy, and 39 events (0.4%) were recorded with tirzepatide. The average follow-up duration was 3.8 months for the Wegovy group and 4.3 months for the tirzepatide group.

Also Read: Wegovy And Zepbound Cost-Effective, But They Could Break Drug Budgets

In all treated people, regardless of any gaps in their treatment, Wegovy showed a significant 29% risk reduction for heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause compared with tirzepatide (over an average follow-up of 8.3 months for Wegovy and 8.6 months for tirzepatide).

56 (0.5%) of these cardiovascular events were recorded with Wegovy, and 83 events (0.8%) were recorded with tirzepatide.

In all treated people, regardless of any gaps in their treatment, people treated with Wegovy experienced fewer events of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death than people treated with tirzepatide.

What’s Next

Novo Nordisk intends to seek U.S. regulatory approval for a high-dose version of its weight-loss injection Wegovy (semaglutide).

High-dose Wegovy offers the same weight-loss potential as Lilly’s Zepbound, giving patients another option, Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer at Novo Nordisk, told Bloomberg in an interview.

Price Action: At the last check on Thursday, NVO stock was up 7.63% at $62.64 during the premarket session.

Read Next:

• Palantir Stock Climbs Nearly 2% In Thursday Pre-Market: What’s Going On?

Image via Shutterstock