Novo’s obesity portfolio gains momentum with oral semaglutide data

Novo is poised to add another obesity therapy to its portfolio after oral semaglutide showed comparable weight loss to blockbuster Wegovy in its first Phase III trial.

In the Phase III OASIS 1 study, 50 mg of once-daily oral semaglutide from Novo Nordisk A/S (CSE:NOVO; NYSE:NVO) led to 15.1% weight reduction vs. 2.4% for placebo at 68 weeks using the treatment policy estimand, which estimates efficacy regardless of whether a patient discontinues the study drug during the trial. The placebo-adjusted difference of 12.7% is nearly identical to the 12.4% placebo-adjusted weight loss seen in the STEP-1 trial of once-weekly injectable Wegovy semaglutide, at 2.4 mg. ...