Study: Daily pill may work as well as weekly weight loss shots to treat obesity

High-dose versions of a popular weight loss medication taken orally are as effective as a weekly injection of the drug, two studies published Sunday night show.

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Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is poised to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for pills that have the same medication as the company’s injectables Ozempic and Wegovy, according to The New York Times.

The drugs have become popular as ways to drop significant weight in a short period of time.

Ozempic and Wegovy are the same drug, semaglutide, but at different doses. The new research suggests that higher daily doses of semaglutide in pill form would be as effective as taking the drug as a weekly injection.

Wegovy has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a weight loss drug for adults who are obese, defined as a person whose BMI is greater than 30, as well as for people with a BMI of at least 27 who also have a weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure.

BMI is body mass index, or a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, those using Wegovy have been able to cut body weight by as much as 15% after just a short time on the drug.

One of the studies presented Sunday showed that 50 milligrams of semaglutide taken orally each day is as effective as weekly Wegovy shots in reducing weight in people who are overweight or obese. Wegovy injections contain 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide per dose while Ozempic has 2 milligrams per dose.

The studies noted that the higher doses of the medicine increase the risk of side effects including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation.

According to one study, 80% of those who took the 50-milligram dose reported adverse effects. Thirteen percent of people who received the 50-milligram dose stopped taking the medication because of the side effects.

The Times reported that in a previous study, 74.2% of participants who received 2.4 milligrams of injectable semaglutide each week experienced gastrointestinal disorders.

A version of the drug is already in pill form, but it is OK’d for use only in patients with Type 2 diabetes. That drug is called Rybelsus.

The drugs are generally not covered by insurance and the injectables cost around $1,200 a month. An estimated cost for the pill version was not given.