• Data to highlight the impact of Wegovy® (semaglutide 2.4 mg) on atrial fibrillation – a common heart rhythm condition – in people living with obesity (SELECT study)
• Additional Rybelsus® and Ozempic® data demonstrate new cardiometabolic benefits (improvements in heart and metabolic health) in people living with type 2 diabetes (SOUL and STRIDE studies)
• New insights into the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease on mortality and major cardiovascular events in people living with inflammation in the heart vessels
  
  

Bagsværd, Denmark, 20 August 2025 – Novo Nordisk today announced new data showing the cardiovascular protective benefits of Wegovy® and Ozempic® will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2025 from 29 August to 1 September in Madrid, Spain. New data will also include perspectives on the role of inflammation in a condition called atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

“For people living with diabetes and obesity, heart disease is one of the biggest threats that could change a person’s life in an instant. Semaglutide is proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by 20-26%1, meaning fewer hospitalisations, heart attacks, stroke and deaths,” said Ludovic Helfgott, executive vice president and head of Product & Portfolio Strategy at Novo Nordisk.

The key role of cardiovascular inflammation in ASCVD will be discussed in a Novo Nordisk symposium on Saturday, 30 August. ASCVD is a condition where blood vessels that carry blood to your heart cut off the blood flow to other parts of your body, making those vessels stiff and narrow. Additionally, a range of real-world evidence is being presented, providing a thorough analysis of the impact of inflammation in cardiovascular disease on mortality and major cardiovascular events in people with ASCVD. Real-world evidence is data from everyday healthcare settings that show how treatments work in real life, beyond controlled clinical trials.

“At the ESC congress, we are presenting new data substantiating the unique range of benefits semaglutide has on people with heart and kidney disease, as demonstrated in both clinical trials and in the real world,” Ludovic Helfgott said. “Semaglutide is unrivalled in the GLP-1 class with its proven reduction in heart attack, stroke, kidney complications and cardiovascular death.”

Key Novo Nordisk data at the ESC congress 2025 include:

Scientific Sessions:

• Unravelling cardiovascular inflammation in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD): from evidence to guidance – Saturday 30 August; 10:00 – 10:45 CEST
• GLP-1RAs in obesity-related HFpEF: a new era in treatment – Sunday 31 August; 10:00 –10:45 CEST
• A change of heart – why cardiologists can’t ignore semaglutide – Sunday 31 August; 12:30 – 13:30 CEST
  
  

Poster and oral presentations:
Ozempic® (once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg)

• Effect of semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and peripheral artery disease: an analysis of the STRIDE trial stratified by disease severity and age – Friday 29 August; 08:35 – 08:45 CEST
• STRIDE Outcomes by Sex – Sunday 31 August; 09:15 – 09:30 CEST

Rybelsus® (once-daily oral semaglutide)

• Effects of oral semaglutide on heart failure outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and/or chronic kidney disease participating in SOUL trial – Friday 29 August; 14:40 – 14:50 CEST
• Impact of oral semaglutide on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and/or chronic kidney disease: a SOUL post hoc analysis – Saturday 30 August; 08:33 – 08:51 CEST
• Effect of oral semaglutide on CV outcomes across the vascular disease spectrum, from no vascular disease to polyvascular disease, in high-risk type 2 diabetes – Monday 1 September; 13:15 – 14:00 CEST
  
  

Wegovy® (once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg)

• Semaglutide effects on incidence and reoccurrence of atrial fibrillation in the SELECT trial – Friday 29 August; 14:30 – 14:40 CEST
• Semaglutide is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular events compared with tirzepatide in patients with overweight or obesity and ASCVD and without diabetes in routine clinical practice – Sunday 31 August; 09:00 – 09:15 CEST
• Potential real-world benefit of semaglutide 2.4 mg on cardiovascular outcomes in the UK based on the SELECT trial – Sunday 31 August; 17:40 – 17:50 CEST
• Relationship between baseline LDL cholesterol levels and cardiovascular outcomes in adults with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity: an exploratory analysis of the SELECT trial – Monday 1 September; 13:15 – 14:00 CEST

Cardiovascular inflammation

• Associations between C-reactive protein levels and mortality in individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease: results from the UK Discover database – Friday 29 August; 08:51 – 09:09 CEST
• Residual inflammation, cholesterol risks and rates of major cardiovascular events in routinely cared patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease – Sunday 31 August; 08:45 – 08:55 CEST
• Direct healthcare costs for individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease stages 3–4 or both: results from the UK Discover database – Monday 1 September; 14:15 – 15:00 CEST
• Awareness and perceptions on the role of systemic inflammation in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease: a national study among cardiologists and nephrologists in China – Monday 1 September; 14:15 – 15:00 CEST

General obesity

• Cardiovascular outcomes in a SELECT-like obesity population: real-world insights from the Swedish AROS study – Saturday 30 August; 10:15 – 11:00 CEST
  
  

If you have any questions about the data or want more information, reach out to globalmedia@novonordisk.com.

About semaglutide
Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) that mimics the effects of the naturally occurring hormone GLP-1. It has been tested in several robust clinical development programmes and outcomes studies in cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, liver disease and other related cardiometabolic diseases1-8.

Semaglutide is marketed under the brand names Wegovy® (once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg injection), Ozempic® (once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg injection), and Rybelsus® (once-daily oral semaglutide 14 mg)6-8.

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 78,400 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com,Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Contacts for further information

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References
1.      Marso SP, Bain SC, Consoli A, et al. Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:1834-1844.
2.      Perkovic V, Tuttle KR, Rossing P, et al. Effects of Semaglutide on Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2024;391:109-121.
3.      Lincoff AM, Brown-Frandsen K, Colhoun HM, et al. Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2023;389:2221-2232.
4.      Pratley RE, Aroda VR, Lingvay I, et al. Semaglutide versus dulaglutide once weekly in patients with type 2 diabetes (SUSTAIN 7): a randomised, open-label, phase 3b trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018;6:275-286.
5.      McGuire DK, Marx N, Mulvagh SL, et al. Oral Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in High-Risk Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2025;392:2001-2012.
6.      Ozempic® (once-weekly semaglutide): Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/ozempic. Last accessed: August 2025.
7.      Wegovy® (semaglutide injection 2.4 mg): Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/wegovy. Last accessed: August 2025.
8.      Rybelsus® (once-daily oral semaglutide): Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/rybelsus. Last accessed: August 2025.

Attachment

• PR250820-Curtain-Raiser-ESC-2025