Wegovy linked to liver health benefits at low levels of weight loss

Wegovy could improve liver health in adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis, even at low levels of weight loss, according to new data presented at this year's American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases meeting.

Novo Nordisk's post hoc analysis of its ongoing phase 3 ESSENCE trial assessed the treatment response of the first 800 participants across several weight loss thresholds (≤2%, ≤5%, ≤7%, >7%) over a 72-week period.

Across all weight loss levels, participants who received Wegovy (2.4 mg of semaglutide) experienced greater improvements in liver health markers than those given a placebo, the company says.

Among patients who lost 2% or less of their body weight, nearly half (48.4%) of those taking Wegovy showed signs that their liver injury had healed, compared with 25.8% in the placebo group. Improvements in liver scarring were also observed in 27.2% of treated patients versus the 18.3% on placebo.

"[This] data suggest[s] that the effects of semaglutide 2.4 mg in this study may not be solely dependent on weight loss and provide important insights into the clinical effects of semaglutide 2.4 mg in people living with MASH," Professor Philip Newsome, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., co-chief investigator and director of Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, King's College Hospital and King's College London, said in a press release.

The findings also contribute to the understanding of MASH, a condition often accompanied by other systemic disorders.

"[These] results suggest that even at low levels of weight loss, people with MASH receiving semaglutide 2.4 mg had greater improvements in liver health parameters than those receiving placebo," Martin Holst Lange, chief scientific officer and executive vice president of research and development at Novo Nordisk, also said in the company's announcement.

While GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide have been wildly successful in treating obesity and related metabolic conditions, this new data suggests they could have more therapeutic uses.

Novo Nordisk also announced last week that its investigational drug, CagriSema, which contains cagrilintide and semaglutide, helped people lose weight, ease inflammation and even lower blood pressure enough for some participants to stop taking their anti-hypertensives medications.

In August, the FDA granted Wegovy accelerated approval for treating MASH with moderate-to-advanced fibrosis in adults, making it the first GLP-1 therapy approved explicitly for MASH.

The agency's decision was based on encouraging interim results, but it is contingent upon final data from the two-part ESSENCE trial, which is expected to conclude in 2029.

Alivia Kaylor is a scientist and the senior site editor of Pharma Life Sciences.