FDA official announcements and press releases

Novo Nordisk's Semaglutide 7.2 mg Achieves 20.7% Weight Loss in STEP UP Trial, Falls Short of Eli Lilly's Zepbound

Jan 17, 2025, 01:14 PM

Novo Nordisk A/S announced that its obesity drug, semaglutide at a 7.2 mg dose, achieved a 20.7% weight loss in the STEP UP trial among patients who adhered to the treatment over 72 weeks. The trial, which included 1,407 adults with obesity, also showed an average weight loss of 18.7% regardless of treatment adherence. This result was superior to the 17.5% weight loss achieved with the 2.4 mg dose of semaglutide and the 2.4% loss with placebo. Additionally, 33.2% of participants on the 7.2 mg dose lost at least 25% of their body weight, compared to 16.7% on the 2.4 mg dose and none on placebo. The higher dose of semaglutide was reported to be well-tolerated, with the most common side effects being gastrointestinal and mostly mild to moderate. However, the weight loss achieved with the 7.2 mg dose of semaglutide did not surpass the 23% weight loss seen with Eli Lilly's Zepbound over 176 weeks.