- Data across obesity, cardiovascular disease, MASH, type 2 diabetes, as well as advances in obesity-related care to be presented at ECO 2025 - covering burden, and the value of treatment and prevention
- Analysis of the landmark SELECT trial to uncover new insights into the early cardiovascular benefits of semaglutide
- Real-world studies reinforce value of semaglutide in obesity
Bagsværd, Denmark, 6 May 2025 - Novo Nordisk today announced that new data spanning the company's industry-leading portfolio across metabolic and cardiovascular health will be presented at the upcoming 32nd European Congress on Obesity (ECO), 11-14 May 2025. The data will further extend the wide-ranging evidence base for semaglutide through real-world evidence studies and additional analysis of the landmark cardiovascular outcomes trial, SELECT, as well as part 1 of the phase 3 ESSENCE trial in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Data will also be presented on the wider societal impacts of treating and preventing obesity, alongside analysis of the burden of obesity in adolescents.
"Obesity is one of the greatest healthcare challenges we face globally, impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Without effective interventions, the global burden of obesity and its complications will continue to rise," said Stephen Gough, senior vice president and head of Chief Medical Office at Novo Nordisk. "Our broad and robust semaglutide data presented at ECO, including its impact on weight loss in a real-world setting and its early clinical effect on cardiovascular events and death, significantly adds to the growing body of evidence showing the value of semaglutide to individuals, healthcare systems and society."
"We are dedicated to leading the way in defeating obesity and are pleased to return to ECO to present new, strong semaglutide data," said Ludovic Helfgott, executive vice president of Product & Portfolio Strategy at Novo Nordisk. "Our investment into the understanding and treatment of obesity continues to reveal new insights, with semaglutide showing its potential to improve health in obesity, heart disease and liver disease. Our data shows that semaglutide provides early protection against heart disease even before significant weight loss occurs and that for people in treatment, our digital support solutions have the potential to enhance weight loss further."
Novo Nordisk abstracts to be presented, some of these data for semaglutide are investigational:
| Abstract Title | Abstract presentation details |
| Estimating the effect of overweight and obesity during adolescence on the risk of long-term comorbidities: a population-based retrospective analysis in England between 2008 and 2023 | Oral Presentation (AD07.05) S Senniappan (UK) 12 May, 12:30-12:45 CEST |
| Estimating the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the incidence of comorbidities in adolescents living with overweight and obesity: a cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data in England between 2008 and 2023 | Poster presentation (PO3.038) 12 May, 18:00-19:30 CEST |
| Association between engagement with the WegovyCare digital self-support app and weight loss in a real-world setting | Oral presentation (AD12.06) B L Heitmann (Denmark) 13 May, 12:45-13:00 CEST |
| Early Clinical Benefit of Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: A Secondary Analysis of the SELECT Trial | Oral Presentation (AD15.04) J Plutzky (US) 13 May, 17:15-17:30 CEST |
| Use and Effectiveness of Once-weekly Semaglutide in US Adults with Overweight or Obesity in Clinical Practice | Poster presentation (PO4.070) 13 May 18:00-19:30 CEST |
| A personalized treat-to-target approach for obesity management: Integrating changes in adiposity measures with changes in biomarker levels towards reaching low-risk states of incident T2D and ASCVD | Poster presentation (PO4.171) 13 May, 18:00-19:30 CEST |
| What are the most important research questions within prediabetes? A Priority Setting Partnership in collaboration with patients, healthcare professionals and researchers | Poster presentation (PO4.194) 13 May, 18:00-19:30 CEST |
| Metrics that matter: identifying endpoints for capturing the broad health impacts of obesity prevention | Poster presentation (PO2.058) 13 May |
| A novel framework to assess the prevention value of a health intervention | Poster presentation (PO4.143) 13 May |
| Weight-independent benefits of semaglutide on histology and non-invasive tests in participants with biopsy-defined MASH: Post hoc analysis of the ESSENCE trial part 1 | Oral Presentation (Part of accepted scientific symposium: The MASH - Obesity intersection) P Newsome (UK) 14 May, 09:30-11:00 (presentation time 10:15-10:40) CEST |
| Predicting weight loss using self-reported, digitally collected, real-world data after initiation of semaglutide treatment | Poster presentation (PO4.095) |
| Quantifying the Productivity Gains of Semaglutide Treatment in the UK for the Population Eligible for Reimbursement: a Modelling Study Using the Wider Societal Impacts Framework | Poster presentation (PO4.194) |
Obesity is a chronic, multi-factorial disease influenced by biological, psychological, and environmental factors that often puts people on the pathway to other serious chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and MASH.1,2,3 A significant proportion of the cardiovascular risk associated with these diseases is attributable to shared metabolic risk factors.3 CVD accounts for around 70% of deaths in people living with obesity and is the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and MASH.3, 4, 5, 6
Obesity is also associated with an increased demand on healthcare services, and a significant cost burden to society.7
About semaglutide
Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), which mimics the effects of the naturally occurring hormone GLP-1. Semaglutide has been tested in several robust clinical development programmes and outcome studies in cardiometabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, liver disease and other related cardiometabolic diseases. It has a cumulative exposure of over 33 million patient-years since 2018.8
Semaglutide is marketed under the brand names Wegovy® (once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg injection), Ozempic® (once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg injection), and Rybelsus® (once-daily oral semaglutide 14 mg).
About Wegovy®
In the EU, Wegovy® is indicated as an adjunct to a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obesity), adults with an initial BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition and paediatric patients aged 12 years and older with an initial BMI at the 95th percentile or greater for age and gender (obesity) and body weight above 60 kg.
In the US, Wegovy® is indicated in combination with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to reduce the risk of MACE in adults with established cardiovascular disease and either obesity or overweight, as well as to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term in adults and paediatric patients aged 12 years and older with obesity and in adults with overweight in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Our purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases built upon our heritage in diabetes. We do so by pioneering scientific breakthroughs, expanding access to our medicines, and working to prevent and ultimately cure disease. Novo Nordisk employs about 76,300 people in 80 countries and markets its products in around 170 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Contacts for further information
| Media: | |
| Ambre James-Brown +45 3079 9289 abmo@novonordisk.com | Liz Skrbkova (US) +1 609 917 0632 lzsk@novonordisk.com |
| Investors: | |
| Jacob Martin Wiborg Rode +45 3075 5956 jrde@novonordisk.com | Ida Schaap Melvold +45 3077 5649 idmg@novonordisk.com |
| Sina Meyer +45 3079 6656 azey@novonordisk.com | Max Ung +45 3077 6414 mxun@novonordisk.com |
| Frederik Taylor Pitter +1 609 613 0568 fptr@novonordisk.com |
References
1 National Institutes of Health. Clinical Guidelines On The Identification, Evaluation, And Treatment Of Overweight And Obesity In Adults. NHLBI. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_gdlns.pdf. Last accessed: November 2024.
2 Marassi M, Fadini GP. The cardio-renal-metabolic connection: a review of the evidence. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2023 Jul 31;22(1):195. doi: 10.1186/s12933-023-01937-x. PMID: 37525273; PMCID: PMC10391899.
3 Shroff H, VanWagner LB. Cardiovascular Disease in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: Screening and Management. Curr Hepatol Rep. 2020;19(3):315-326. doi:10.1007/s11901-020-00530-0.
4 Jankowski J, Floege J, Fliser D, Böhm M, Marx N: Cardiovascular disease in chronic kidney disease: pathophysiological insights and therapeutic options. Circulation. 2021, 143:1157-72.
5 Khafagy R, Dash S. Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: The Emerging Role of Inflammation. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;8:768119. Published 2021 Oct 25. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2021.768119.
6 Ma, CX., Ma, XN., Guan, CH. et al. Cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus: progress toward personalized management. Cardiovasc Diabetol 21, 74 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-022-01516-6
7 Okunogbe et al. Economic impacts of overweight and obesity: current and future estimates for eight countries BMJ Glob Health 2021;6(10):e006351.
8 Novo Nordisk data on file.
