News Health & Medicine

Taking a weight-loss drug reduced a craving for opioids

Early results provide some evidence that drugs like Wegovy can tackle opioid addiction, too

Shown are two blue injectable pens of a drug called Saxenda, the brand name for a molecule called liraglutide that is used to treat diabetes and obesity.

Preliminary results from a small clinical trial suggest that liraglutide, a drug used to treat diabetes and obesity, could also be an effective treatment for substance use disorders. Saxenda (shown) is one of the brand names under which liraglutide is sold.

CristianCamiloAcevedoOrozco/Wikimedia Commons

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

DENVER — A weight-loss drug used to treat obesity and diabetes has shown promise to treat another disorder: opioid addiction.