People who stayed on a 7.2 milligram weekly dose of semaglutide lost around 20% of their body weight over 72 weeks.

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%. The trial was testing a 7.2 milligram dose of the drug,

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.

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.

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'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 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,

Tripling the dosage of the Wegovy weight-loss drug leads to more weight loss, Novo Nordisk said Friday. The Danish drugmaker announced results from a Phase 3B trial of semaglutide at a 7.2 milligram dosage,