Image: 6PA/MAXPPP
The active ingredient semaglutide, originally developed for the treatment of diabetes, is also considered a revolution in obesity therapy. In the foreseeable future it should be available not only for injection but also as a tablet.
Semaglutide has attracted worldwide attention in recent months. The active ingredient, which mimics the effect of the body’s own glucagon-like peptide-1, leads to a feeling of satiety and slower gastric emptying. As an injection that can be administered under the skin once a week, the drug leads to the desired blood sugar reduction in type 2 diabetics and to a reduction of the medium-term meaningful value for blood sugar control (HbA1c) by 1.2 to 1.8 percentage points. At the same time, clinical studies have also shown a weight loss effect of minus 15 percent of body weight.
15.1 percent weight loss
While semaglutide was initially only available in a form for injecting under the skin, the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has now also developed a version in tablet form. This would make it much easier to take, especially for people with obesity. According to Novo Nordisk, the scientific data speak for it. “In a study that enrolled nearly 700 obese or overweight adults who took one pill of semaglutide daily, there was a 15.1 percent weight loss compared to 2.4 percent with a placebo over a 17-month follow-up period away”wrote the pharmaceutical information service “fierce” recently.
Source: Nachrichten
