All chronic kidney disease is progressive. This means a constant deterioration of kidney function year after year, says Stephen Gough at Novo Nordisk.
Ozempic is already widely used and is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The American FDA's decision means that the medication can now be used to reduce the risk of kidney disease worsening, as well as kidney failure and death from cardiovascular disease in patients with both chronic kidney disease and diabetes.
About 37 million adult Americans live with chronic kidney disease, according to Novo Nordisk, writes CNBC.
Ozempic was approved in the EU in December for the treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease.
The medication, which contains the active substance semaglutide, is also used to treat obesity and overweight.
Novo Nordisk's share has risen sharply on the stock exchange in recent years, but has lost a large part of its value since its peak in the summer.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant is, however, once again Europe's highest-valued company since a positive result in a drug study led to a surge in the share price at the end of last week.
