Studies have demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists for glycemic control and body weight. The aim of this trial was to characterize the dose-dependent effects of semaglutide (up to 16 mg/week) in people with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity.
In this parallel-group, participant- and investigator-blinded, phase 2 trial, 245 individuals with type 2 diabetes and BMI ≥27 kg/m2 on metformin were randomized to weekly semaglutide (2, 8, or 16 mg s.c.) or placebo for 40 weeks. Doses were escalated every 4 weeks, followed by a maintenance period. Dose modifications were not allowed. Primary and secondary efficacy end points included change from baseline to week 40 in HbA1c and body weight, respectively.
Estimated treatment difference between 16 and 2 mg was −0.3 percentage points (%-points) (95% CI −0.7 to 0.2; P = 0.245) for HbA1c change and −3.4 kg (−6.0 to −0.8; P = 0.011) for weight change for the treatment policy estimand and −0.5%-points (−1.0 to −0.1; P = 0.015) and −4.5 kg (−7.6 to −1.4; P = 0.004), respectively, for the hypothetical estimand. Dose-response modeling confirmed these findings. Treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) and treatment discontinuations due to AEs, primarily gastrointestinal, were more frequent in the semaglutide 8 and 16 mg groups than in the 2 mg group. No severe hypoglycemic episodes were reported.
Higher semaglutide doses for type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity provide modest additional glucose-lowering effect, with additional weight loss, at the expense of more AEs and treatment discontinuations. A study for evaluating high-dose semaglutide in obesity is currently underway.
Clinical trial reg. no. NCT05486065, clinicaltrials.gov
A list of the trial investigators can be found in the Supplementary Material online.
This article contains supplementary material online at https://doi.org/10.2337/figshare.28544267.
