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.

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%.

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,

The government is expected to pay lower prices for Ozempic and Wegovy starting in 2027. The Trump administration will decide whether to expand coverage for millions of Americans.

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.

The first study to assess how weight-loss drugs affect the whole of human health has discovered an "eye-opening" impact on the body, researchers say. The analysis, involving about two million people,

The best semaglutide dose for weight loss varies according to your starting weight, risks, and stage of treatment. Read to find out how to calculate.

Federal officials are targeting the blockbuster drugs as part of their ongoing initiative to lower drug costs.