Trial results for a study investigating semaglutide in people with excess weight and type 2 diabetes were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-04-27. The study showed that participants receiving semaglutide 7.2 mg achieved a mean body weight reduction of -13.5%, compared to -4.0% for those on placebo.
Background
This study, titled "A Research Study to See How Semaglutide Helps People With Excess Weight and Type 2 Diabetes Lose Weight," aimed to evaluate the efficacy of semaglutide in individuals diagnosed with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Trial design
The study (NCT05649137) was a Phase 3, randomized trial that enrolled 512 participants. It investigated semaglutide in people diagnosed with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either semaglutide 7.2 mg, semaglutide 2.4 mg, or placebo. The study's primary focus included evaluating the relative change in body weight and blood sugar control.
Key results
The trial results demonstrated significant differences in weight reduction between the semaglutide and placebo groups. For the outcome of "Relative Change in Body Weight":
- Participants receiving semaglutide 7.2 mg achieved a mean body weight reduction of -13.5% (Standard Deviation: 8.7).
- Participants receiving semaglutide 2.4 mg achieved a mean body weight reduction of -10.7% (Standard Deviation: 8.1).
- Participants receiving placebo achieved a mean body weight reduction of -4.0% (Standard Deviation: 6.2).
An ANCOVA analysis showed a treatment difference of -9.33 (95.0% CI: -10.95 to -7.71) with a p-value of 0.0001, likely comparing the highest dose of semaglutide to placebo.
Regarding the proportion of participants achieving specific weight loss thresholds:
- Weight loss ≥ 5%: 251 participants in the semaglutide 7.2 mg group achieved this, compared to 73 in the semaglutide 2.4 mg group and 33 in the placebo group.
- Weight loss ≥ 10%: 183 participants in the semaglutide 7.2 mg group achieved this, compared to 50 in the semaglutide 2.4 mg group and 11 in the placebo group.
A binary regression model for achieving weight loss ≥ 5% showed an Odds Ratio (OR) of 10.03 (95.0% CI: 5.96 to 16.87) with a p-value of 0.0001.
What this means
The results from this Phase 3 trial indicate that semaglutide significantly reduced body weight in individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes compared to placebo. The higher dose of semaglutide 7.2 mg demonstrated a greater mean percentage change in body weight and a higher proportion of participants achieving clinically meaningful weight loss thresholds (≥5% and ≥10%) compared to both the lower dose and placebo. These findings suggest that semaglutide could be an effective therapeutic option for weight management in this patient population, offering a substantial benefit over current standard approaches.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for study NCT05649137, titled "A Research Study to See How Semaglutide Helps People With Excess Weight and Type 2 Diabetes Lose Weight," were posted on 2026-04-27 on clinicaltrials.gov.