Injectable prescription drugs that reduce appetite — like Ozempic, Saxenda and Mounjaro — have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.
Now, Cleveland Clinic researchers may have figured out which patients have the best odds of success. Women who take Wegovy to treat obesity have the greatest likelihood of achieving 10% or more weight loss in a year, according to a study published Friday in JAMA Network Open.
“We found that long-term weight reduction varied significantly based on the medication’s active agent, treatment indication, dosage and persistence with the medication,” said Dr. Hamlet Gasoyan, lead study author and a researcher with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Value-Based Care Research.
The researchers only studied two types of drugs that mimic the GLP-1 hormone to make people feel fuller for longer — semaglutide and liraglutide.
Semaglutide is sold as Ozempic to treat Type 2 diabetes and as Wegovy for obesity.
Wegovy is typically prescribed at a slightly higher dosage than Ozempic.
Saxenda and Victoza contain liraglutide — Saxenda, which comes in a higher dose, is for weight loss while Victoza is for Type 2 diabetes.
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk makes Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda and Victoza.
Other GLP-1 drugs include dulaglutide (Trulicity) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound).
The Cleveland Clinic study included data from about 3,400 obese adults who received injectable semaglutide or liraglutide between 2015 and 2022.
Nearly 43% of the participants were prescribed liraglutide for Type 2 diabetes, 39.6% were taking semaglutide for diabetes, 11.1% were given semaglutide for obesity and 6.7% liraglutide for obesity.
On average, semaglutide led to a 5.1% weight loss versus 2.2% for liraglutide.
A higher dose of either drug meant a 6.6% weight drop versus 3.5% for a lower dose.
Those taking the drug for obesity experienced a 5.9% decrease in weight versus 3.2% for diabetes treatment.
People who took the drug for at least one year experienced more weight loss (5.5%) than people who took it for 90 to 275 days (2.8%) and less than 90 days (1.8%).
Among yearlong patients, 61% of semaglutide users treated for obesity achieved weight loss of 10% or more.
That mark was reached by 28.6% of those taking liraglutide for obesity, 23.1% of semaglutide diabetics and 12.3% of liraglutide diabetics.
Gasoyan hopes these findings help patients and providers set realistic weight loss goals.
“Having real-world data could help manage expectations regarding weight reduction with GLP-1 RA medications and reinforce that persistence is key to achieve meaningful results,” Gasoyan said.
The study results come amid unprecedented demand for GLP-1 drugs — despite reports that the medications can cause stomach paralysis, bowel damage and even death.
As Novo Nordisk develops a pill that could lead to even greater weight loss, scientists are trying to figure out what else these drugs can treat beyond obesity and diabetes.
