Novo Nordisk Says Higher-Dose Wegovy Shot Helps Some Patients Lose 28% of Their Weight

By Dominic Chopping

Novo Nordisk said certain patients on its higher-dose Wegovy shot lost 27.7% of their body weight on average in a trial.

The Danish drugmaker said those patients who reacted faster to treatment by losing at least 15% of their weight after the first six months went on to achieve the nearly 28% total weight loss after about a year and a half.

The company said the majority of the weight loss, around 84%, from using its Wegovy shots comes from losing body fat while preserving muscle function and improving muscle health.

The data was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Turkey.

The higher-dose Wegovy shot is a once-weekly injection that contains 7.2 milligrams of active ingredient semaglutide and has been shown in a trial to help patients lose 21% of their body weight on average.

Prior to the launch of the 7.2-milligram version, the highest available injectable dose was 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide, which has shown to help patients lose around 18% of their body weight on average.

Higher-dose Wegovy launched in the U.S. last month and was also approved in the U.K. The company has also received approval from the European Commission that allows a Wegovy dose of up to 7.2 milligrams a week administered as three separate shots of 2.4 milligrams.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

Corrections & Amplifications

This article was corrected at 05:35 a.m. ET to clarify that Novo Nordisk's 7.2 milligram single-dose shot was approved in the U.K. An earlier article incorrectly said the company is awaiting approval for the single-dose pen in the U.K.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-12-26 0253ET