Wegovy pills as effective as injections for weight loss in trial, drug manufacturer says

A pill form of the weight loss drug Wegovy was as effective as injections for people with obesity in a clinical trial, the drug's manufacturer said.

Novo Nordisk said in its news release that participants in the trial who were obese and who took semaglutide 25 mg — the once-daily pill of its injectable Wegovy — lost an average 16% of their body weight if they followed the treatment as directed, compared with a placebo group that lost 2.7%. 

The result was "comparable with previous trial results of injectable Wegovy," according to the release.

The study results were released Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. 

Semaglutide is a medication originally used to treat type 2 diabetes, but was also approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long-term weight loss, according to Novo Nordisk. Wegovy side effects primarily include gastrointestinal issues including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and bloating.

The 64-week trial, which compared oral semaglutide to placebo in 307 adults, also showed improvements in participants' ability to perform everyday activities like bending, standing and being physically active, the release said.

Novo Nordisk, based in Denmark, could not be reached for comments Friday.

The weight loss industry is booming, with the global market for weight loss drugs expected to surpass $100 billion in the next few years, according to Morningstar Research Services LLC, a financial services firm in Chicago. A pill expands treatment options for patients who may not want to use an injectable, according to the manufacturer and a weight loss doctor.

Injectable Wegovy is FDA-approved for weight loss but the pill form has not yet been approved by the FDA. A review by the FDA is expected by the end of this year, according to Novo Nordisk.

Other weight loss drugs include Ozempic and Mounjaro. Weight loss experts emphasize the need for a holistic approach combining medication with lifestyle changes for effective weight loss, Newsday has reported.

The trial results are promising, said Dr. Konstantinos Spaniolas, chief of the bariatric, foregut and advanced GI surgery division at Stony Brook Medicine. 

"The new oral semaglutide trial adds to our evidence for treatment options for obesity," said Spaniolas, who is also the director of the Stony Brook bariatric and metabolic weight loss center. "We have had previously available oral semaglutide at a lower dose approved for glycemic control for patients with diabetes with modest weight loss. ... The weight loss appears to be in similar magnitude to what is achieved with the injection version with a difference that the injection is only once a week."

Novo Nordisk said in the news release that a pill may lead to more people with obesity to try weight loss medications. Only 2% of obese people seek weight loss treatment, the manufacturer said..

"Wegovy in a pill may also address patient preference for oral treatment," said Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer and executive vice president of research and development at Novo Nordisk, in the release. "Ample supply will be available to meet the expected US demand as we hope to set a new treatment benchmark for oral weight loss medications for people with overweight or obesity.”

Novo Nordisk's stock rose after the trial results were announced, closing at $61.85 on Thursday according to Yahoo Finance. The stock closed at  $61.40 on Friday afternoon.