Semaglutide Wins in Steatohepatitis, Fibrosis

In a Phase 3 trial funded by Novo Nordisk, patients receiving a weekly dose of 2.4 mg of semaglutide (the company’s Ozempic and Wegovy), a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, had better results regarding steatohepatitis and fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis than patients receiving placebo. The findings were reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers say the patients receiving semaglutide also had more weight loss.

“Although formal hypothesis tests were not planned or conducted, semaglutide appeared to be associated with improvements in glucometabolic factors and noninvasive markers of liver health,” the report says. “Changes in bodily pain did not differ significantly between the groups. The findings were similar regardless of the presence or absence of Type 2 diabetes or obesity, and regardless of age, sex, or fibrosis stage.”