Novo Nordisk said patients taking a bigger dose of its blockbuster obesity drug lost more weight than those on a lower dose, without experiencing an increase in side-effects.

A high dose of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy led patients to lose substantial weight in a clinical trial, but still less than what’s been seen with Zepbound.

Wegovy, the weight-loss brand of semaglutide, has a recommended maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. Novo ran the Phase III STEP UP trial to evaluate the effect of increasing the maximum dose to 7.2 mg. The trial randomized 1,407 adults with obesity, but not diabetes, to receive either 7.2 mg or 2.4 mg of semaglutide or placebo.

Novo Nordisk said a higher dose of its drug Wegovy led to greater weight loss in patients during a late-stage trial, but the results fell short of the weight loss achieved with Eli Lilly's rival drug Zepbound,

Novo Nordisk said patients taking a bigger dose of its blockbuster obesity drug lost more weight than those on a lower dose, without experiencing an increase in side effects.

A trial exploring the use of a higher dose of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 agonist semaglutide has shown that patients with obesity who were taking the drug were able to shed more than a fifth of their body weight.

In the ongoing quest to expand semaglutide’s clinical pedigree and cement the GLP-1's market position, Novo Nordisk is rolling out new data on a higher-dose injection in obesity. | In the phase 3b STEP UP study,

Novo Nordisk's STEP UP trial shows semaglutide 7.2 mg delivers superior weight loss and safety compared to lower doses and placebo over 72 weeks.

Novo Nordisk A/S said a bigger dose of the main ingredient in Wegovy, its top-selling weight-loss drug, helped patients shed more pounds in a trial than a standard dosage.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced Friday that a higher-dose version of its popular obesity therapy, semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy led to 20.7% weight loss over 72 weeks compared to 17.5% weight loss achieved by regular semaglutide in a late-stage trial.