HbA1c improvements found from oral semaglutide, Novo Nordisk report

Novo Nordisk have presented positive results from their phase II trial of OG217SC, an oral formulation of long-acting GLP-1 analogue semaglutide designed to treat type 2 diabetes.
Semaglutide stimulates insulin and suppresses the secretion of glucagon, with Novo Nordisk’s oral formulation found to improve HbA1c levels.
HbA1c improvements
Novo Nordisk’s phase II trial compared the once-daily OG217SC to an oral placebo or a subcutaneous administration of semaglutide once a week. The 600 participants all suffered from type 2 diabetes and were treated for 26 weeks.
People were treated with OG217SC across five different ranges of dosage, between 2.5mg to 40mg. They were found to show dose-dependent HbA1c improvements between 0.7 and 1.9 per cent.
HbA1c improvements of 1.9 per cent were also observed in patients treated with a 1mg dose of subcutaneous semaglutide. Only a 0.3 per cent improvement was noted from the placebo.
A weight loss of around 6.5kg was noted in patients treated with subcutaneous semaglutide, which was similar to a reduction experienced in those treated with the highest levels of OG217SC.
While displaying similarly impressive results to the injected semaglutide, there were greater side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, which could prove problematic for patients with type 2 diabetes to tolerate.
Novo Nordisk plan to advance with phase III of oral semaglutide as a once-daily tablet, as well as progressing with research on the once-weekly subcutaneous injectio, which is currently in phase III development.