On Sunday, Novo Nordisk announced that its leading weight-loss drug, “Wegovy,” reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death by 57 percent compared to the competing drugs “Mounjaro” and “Zepbound” from Eli Lilly.

The company explained that this conclusion was reached through a real-world comparison of patients who are overweight or severely obese and have heart disease but do not have diabetes.

Novo Nordisk added that the results of this trial provide evidence that the heart-protective benefits offered by Wegovy and its main component, semaglutide, may not be the same as those provided by all GLP-1 drugs such as tirzepatide, the main component in both Zepbound and Mounjaro.

It stated that compared to tirzepatide, a 2.4 mg dose of Wegovy showed a significant 57 percent reduction in the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related or all-cause death when treatment was adhered to without interruption for more than 30 days.

The actual number of major heart events was low for both drugs, with 15 events (0.1 percent) among patients taking Wegovy and 39 events (0.4 percent) among tirzepatide users. The average follow-up duration was 3.8 months for the Wegovy group and 4.3 months for the tirzepatide group.

Data collected from more than 21,000 patients and presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Madrid showed a 29 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease and all-cause death among Wegovy users compared to tirzepatide users regardless of any treatment interruptions.