'Digital support reduces GLP-1 dose needed for weight loss'

 Combining weight-loss drugs with online patient support can achieve results that match the drugs given on their own, but with a much-reduced dose.

That is the finding from a retrospective study reported at the European Congress on Obesity this week, which focused on the use of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 agonist Wegovy (semaglutide) among users of a personalised, app-based obesity clinic, called Embla.

Embla, developed by a four-year-old company of the same name, is available in Denmark and the UK and was set up to provide weight management support alongside GLP-1 drug therapy.

Patients in the programme achieved an average weight loss of 16.7% after 64 weeks, which the researchers behind the study say is on a par with what was seen in clinical trials of Wegovy at its approved dosing.

Wegovy's standard dosing schedule is a low initial dose of 0.25mg once weekly that is increased every four weeks for 16 weeks to a maximum dose of 2.4mg.

The study in almost 3,000 patients, all from Denmark, found that patients were able to meet their weight-loss goals of a 0.5% or greater reduction in weight per week with less than half that dose, at an average of 1.08mg.

Similar mean weight loss was observed across body mass index (BMI) ranges and all medication doses, according to the study, which is available as a preprint and, according to the study authors, is due to be published in The Lancet Digital Health.

Reducing exposure to medicines is always a good thing if similar clinical outcomes can be achieved, and the study suggests it may be possible to improve the efficacy of semaglutide and other GLP-1 acting drugs, which can have side effects including nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, headache, and tiredness, amongst others.

"Achieving the same weight loss in day-to-day life as in the tightly controlled conditions of a clinical trial, while also using lower doses of drugs, has many potential benefits, from lower costs and fewer side effects for patients, to ensuring that stocks of the drug go further," commented Dr Henrik Gudbergsen, the lead researcher on the paper and chief medical officer of Copenhagen-based Embla.

"Our results show that by giving personalised doses of semaglutide along with diet, exercise and psychological support, it is possible for patients to achieve clinical trial-level weight loss in their day-to-day lives," he added. "This approach was effective across all age groups and all starting weights and in both sexes."

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/digital-support-reduces-glp-1-dose-needed-weight-loss