MetabolicHuman RCT
FLOW: semaglutide and kidney outcomes in type 2 diabetes
FLOW gave weekly semaglutide or placebo to 3,533 adults with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. Major kidney events were 24% less likely on semaglutide.
Semaglutide
A long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist and licensed medicine, backed by large randomised trials for weight, diabetes, heart and kidney outcomes.
- Also known as
- Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, NN9535
- Area
- Metabolic
- Status
- Prescription medicine approved in the UK and US (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus)
Articles on Semaglutide
MetabolicHuman RCT
STEP 8: semaglutide against liraglutide, head to head
STEP 8 put semaglutide and liraglutide side by side in one phase 3 trial. At 68 weeks average weight fell 15.8% on semaglutide and 6.4% on liraglutide.
MetabolicHuman RCT
STEP 5: what two years of semaglutide did to body weight
STEP 5 followed 304 adults for two years. Average weight fell 15.2% on semaglutide 2.4 mg against 2.6% on placebo, and the loss held steady after about week 60.
MetabolicHuman RCT
STEP 3: what semaglutide added to an intensive lifestyle programme
Everyone in STEP 3 got a low-calorie diet and 30 counselling visits. Semaglutide took average weight loss to 16.0% over 68 weeks, against 5.7% on placebo.
MetabolicHuman RCT
STEP-HFpEF: semaglutide eased symptoms in obesity-related heart failure, and the effect held across ages
In 529 people with obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, semaglutide improved symptom scores 7.8 points above placebo. A pooled analysis of 1,145 found no age difference.
MetabolicHuman RCT
Semaglutide for alcohol use disorder: two small trials, both with fewer drinks per drinking day
Trials of 48 and 50 adults found fewer drinks per drinking day and less craving on semaglutide, but missed other targets. Both conclude that further study is justified.
MetabolicHuman RCT
SURMOUNT-5: tirzepatide beat semaglutide by 6.5 points of body weight in a 72-week head-to-head
In 751 adults with obesity, tirzepatide cut weight by 20.2% against 13.7% on semaglutide. The trial was open-label and paid for by the maker of tirzepatide.
MetabolicHuman RCT
Retatrutide: what the trials show so far, and what is still a press release
Peer-reviewed trials show 24% weight loss at 48 weeks and large falls in liver fat; the headline 28% phase 3 figure is still company-reported.
MetabolicHuman RCT
Cagrilintide and CagriSema: what the amylin trials found
Alone, cagrilintide cut weight by about 11% in 26 weeks; paired with semaglutide it reached 20% at 68 weeks, but lost a head-to-head against tirzepatide.
MetabolicHuman RCT
SELECT: semaglutide cut major heart events by 20% in people who already had heart disease
In 17,604 adults with obesity and existing cardiovascular disease but no diabetes, semaglutide lowered major cardiac events from 8.0% to 6.5% over about three years.
MetabolicHuman RCT
Tirzepatide: what SURMOUNT and SURPASS found
Around 20% average weight loss at 72 weeks, a clear head-to-head win over semaglutide, and heart-outcome data that holds up against an older GLP-1 drug.
MetabolicHuman RCT
STEP 1: what the semaglutide 2.4 mg obesity trial actually found
Weekly semaglutide cut body weight by 14.9% over 68 weeks against 2.4% on placebo. Most of that came back within a year of stopping.
MetabolicHuman RCT
Semaglutide: what the big trials actually showed
About 15% weight loss at 68 weeks, fewer heart attacks and slower kidney decline in large trials, with stomach side effects, gallbladder risk and weight regain on stopping.