Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) on Thursday presented a post hoc analysis from a STEP UP trial sub-population, indicating that Wegovy (pooled semaglutide 7.2 and 2.4 mg) effectively reduced liver fat in obese adults who do not have diabetes.
Significant Reduction in Liver Fat
The analysis, which involved 55 participants, utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the percentage change in liver fat.
The findings revealed that the mean liver fat in the group receiving semaglutide decreased from 8.8% at baseline to 3.1% by week 72.
Furthermore, the data showed that among the 26 participants who started the trials with liver fat above 5%, a significant 88.5% (23 participants) achieved levels below the 5% threshold by week 72.
This indicates that their liver fat returned to normal levels.
Trial Population and Risk Assessment
The post hoc explorative analysis pooled a total of 1,919 adults from both the STEP UP and STEP UP T2D trials.
Within this group, 1,312 individuals were administered semaglutide 7.2 mg, 304 received semaglutide 2.4 mg, and 303 were given a placebo.
At the beginning of the trial, over 94% of the participants across all groups were categorized as high risk for fatty liver based on the Fatty Liver Index (FLI).
Conversely, less than 1% met the criteria for advanced fibrosis risk according to the FIB-4 index.
This suggests that the population studied accurately represents obese individuals with a high risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), but with a low initial burden of advanced liver disease.
Wegovy’s Investigations
Novo Nordisk is currently investigating semaglutide 2.4 mg for the treatment of MASH.
Wegovy is already approved for MASH treatment in several markets. However, semaglutide 7.2 mg is not being explored as a potential treatment for MASH.
NVO Stock Price Activity: Novo Nordisk shares are trading lower by 0.46% at $37.73 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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