The Zhitong Finance App learned that Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) announced on Monday that in a late-stage clinical trial, if the test children fully followed the treatment plan, the active ingredient in the major weight loss drug Wegovy, semaglutide (semaglutide), could cause 40.4% of obese children under 6 to 12 years old to no longer be classified as obese after 68 weeks.
Novo Nordisk stated in a statement that all subjects included in the trial, called STEP Young, received lifestyle interventions throughout the study period, including limiting caloric intake and increasing physical activity.
Novo Nordisk Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange (Martin Holst Lange) said: “The positive results of the STEP Young trial are encouraging. We are optimistic about the potential of simeglutide to help obese children — in addition to lifestyle adjustments, these children need medication to manage their obesity more effectively.”
Novo Nordisk said the trial had reached the main end point, that is, the reduction in body mass index (BMI) of the weekly subcutaneous injections of simeglutide at 68 weeks was significantly superior to that of the placebo group.
The company added that the overall safety and tolerability of simeglutide is consistent with results previously observed in adult and adolescent trials.
Notably, a study released on Friday showed that although GLP-1 weight loss drugs have not been approved for use in children under 12, prescriptions for this age group in the US have surged more than 300 times since 2019.