Semaglutide Injection Once-Weekly for Weight Management in Adults: Results From A Randomized Phase III, Active-Controlled Study.

AIM: To evaluate and compare the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a synthetic semaglutide injection (Test semaglutide) with Wegovy (Reference semaglutide) injection for weight management.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This randomized, Phase III, non-inferiority study included adults with obesity or overweight with or without comorbidities from 21 centers in India. A total of 270 patients with body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2 or ≥ 27 kg/m2 with the presence of at least one of the weight-related comorbidities (hypertension, dyslipidemia or type 2 diabetes mellitus) were randomized (2:1) to receive either Test semaglutide (N = 177) or Reference semaglutide injection (N = 90) once weekly with dose escalation from 0.25 to 2.4 mg. The primary endpoint was percentage change in bodyweight from baseline to Week 24.

RESULTS

Out of 267 randomized patients, 246 completed the study. At Week 24, mean percent weight change from baseline was -13.8% ± 4.28% in Test and -14.1% ± 4.11% in Reference groups with least-squares mean difference of 0.26% (95% CI: -0.86% to 1.39%), meeting the criterion for non-inferiority. The proportion of patients with ≥ 5% and ≥ 10% weight loss were 96.40% and 80.60% in Test, and 98.80% and 80.00% in Reference groups, respectively at Week 24. Improvements in body mass index, waist circumference, SF-36 total score, and glycemic parameters were comparable between groups. Treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in 72.30% and 76.70% in the Test and Reference groups, respectively, with gastrointestinal events being the most common.

CONCLUSIONS

Test synthetic semaglutide was found to be non-inferior to Reference semaglutide in weight management with or without comorbidities.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Prospectively registered on the Clinical Trials Registry-India, CTRI/2025/04/085487 [Registered on: 24/04/2025], https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?EncHid=MTIwNjMx&Enc=&userName=.