Two trials testing the Novo Nordisk weight loss drug semaglutide in Alzheimer’s disease failed, the company said Monday, showing the medicine did not slow the progression of the condition versus placebo.
Studying semaglutide — the key ingredient in the blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy — in Alzheimer’s was always seen as a long shot, even as scientists have found the drug appears to have effects on the body well beyond metabolism. But Novo in recent weeks had raised eyebrows by posting jobs focused on Alzheimer’s consumer marketing and medical affairs.
In the Phase 3 evoke and evoke+ trials, which together enrolled more than 3,800 adults with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s, an oral version of semaglutide did lead to some improvements in certain disease-related biomarkers, Novo said. Those changes, however, did not translate into a delay of disease progression.
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