Novo Nordisk Launches New Trial to Evaluate Wegovy's Potential in Treating Alcoholic Liver Disease

Cailian Press, May 15 (Editor Zhou Ziyi)Novo Nordisk is conducting a new round of trials on its weight-loss drug to explore whether it can help reduce alcohol consumption and treat alcoholic liver disease after people use it. The company is currently seeking to expand the application scope of this weight-loss therapy.

This Danish pharmaceutical company has begun recruiting for a mid-stage trial, expecting to find approximately 240 patients. The trial aims to study whether patients can use semaglutide and cagrilintide.Treat liver damage in patients with alcoholic liver disease and help reduce alcohol consumption。

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's best-selling drug Wegovy, while cagrilintide is a component of another weight-loss medication being developed by Novo Nordisk.

It is reported that Novo Nordisk has previously been evaluating the impact of semaglutide on obesity-related liver diseases (referring to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), andThis study is the first to investigate the effectiveness of treating alcoholic liver disease.。

Alcoholic liver disease causes more than 30,000 deaths in the United States each year. Over the past four decades, treatment options for alcoholic liver disease have remained largely unchanged, primarily relying on abstinence, nutritional therapy, and corticosteroids.

Novo Nordisk's Phase II trial for the evaluation of alcoholic liver disease treatment is expected to conclude in June 2025.If the test results prove to be effective, which means Novo Nordisk's weight loss drugProvides a new approach for a disease with almost no other treatment options。

Applications Beyond Weight Loss

Numerous studies to date have demonstrated the health benefits of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy beyond weight loss.

A trial last November showed that the drug could reduce the risk of death in cardiovascular disease patients by 18%.

Behind this significant result, many people suspect that Wegovy's benefits to the heart may be indirectly achieved through weight loss, rather than being a direct effect of the drug itself.

A trial named "Select" led by a professor of cardiology at University College London, released this week, found that the benefits of Wegovy in reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke are not closely related to the patient's own weight changes. In other words, Wegovy itself does have benefits for the cardiovascular system.

This trial also showed that, after four years of continuous treatment with Novo Nordisk's semaglutide weight-loss drug Wegovy, patients experienced an average weight loss of 10%, indicating that Wegovy’s weight-loss effects can be maintained long-term.

In addition, Novo Nordisk is also exploring the possibility of using semaglutide to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Editor in charge: Yu Jian SF069