Novo Nordisk said on Friday a late-stage trial with a high-dose version of the active ingredient semaglutide, used in its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy, helped overweight patients lower their weight by 20.

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.

Tripling the dosage of the Wegovy weight-loss drug leads to more weight loss, Novo Nordisk said Friday.

Novo Nordisk today announced headline results from STEP UP, a phase 3b trial in the global STEP programme. STEP UP is a 72-week efficacy and safety trial investigating subcutaneous semaglutide 7.2 mg compared to semaglutide 2.

Novo Nordisk said on Friday a late-stage trial with a high-dose version of its weight loss drug semaglutide helped overweight patients lower their weight by 20.7%.

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.

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.