A new study suggests higher doses of popular weight loss jabs are ‘safe’ and could be offered soon to help people shed more pounds
Fat jabs could be given at high doses after a trial showed this helped some patients lose a quarter of their body weight.
A Lancet study could pave the way for the appetite-suppressing drug, which makes up the weekly injections Ozempic and Wegovy, being made available in a much stronger form. Two trials compared the 2.4mg dose of the drug semaglutide, currently available under the brand name Wegovy, with a higher dose of 7.2mg.
The 7.2mg dose led to an average weight loss of nearly 19%, compared to the 16% weight loss seen with the 2.4mg Wegovy dose.
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Nearly half of the participants on the higher dose lost 20% or more of their body weight with about one-third losing at least 25%.
The trial concluded the high dose was generally safe. Side effects like nausea and diarrhoea and some sensory symptoms like tingling were recorded.
However there was no increase in “serious adverse events” at the higher dose.
Dr Simon Cork, Senior Lecturer in Physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “This suggests that patients with higher body mass, who would benefit most from more substantial weight loss, may benefit more from high dose semaglutide than that which is currently available.”
“It is noteworthy, but not surprising that more patients on the higher dose experienced side effects such as nausea and vomiting compared to the lower dose.”
Serious but less common side-effects of semaglutide include acute gallstone disease, pancreatitis and serious allergic reactions. Researchers were trying to find out whether these were more likely at the increased dosage.
Most side effects observed in trials were manageable, resolved over time and did not lead to participants dropping out.
No increase in serious adverse events or severe hypoglycaemia – abnormally low blood sugar levels – was observed with the higher dose.
Semaglutide is currently available under three different brand names:
- Wegovy – weekly injection prescribed on the NHS for weight loss. There are five doses offered for the first four weeks. Dependent on how patients fare with the side effects, the dosage can be worked up to a maintenance dose of 2.4mg.
- Ozempic – the version of the semaglutide jab prescribed for Type 2 diabetes. Similarly the dose starts at 0.25mg but can be increased to a maintenance dose of 2mg.
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The two trials involved 1,900 participants with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30, recruited from over 100 hospitals, specialist clinics and medical centres in over a dozen countries.
Dr Cork added: “Whether patients will get access to this higher dose semaglutide remains to be seen. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures semaglutide, is no doubt conscious of the increasing competition in the weight loss arena with drugs such as Mounjaro resulting in superior weight loss compared with Wegovy, and further medications also demonstrating greater weight loss effects, or in pill form, in late stage clinical trials.”
The findings are published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.