Patients who switched from weekly weight-loss injections to a daily semaglutide tablet continued to shed weight, according to preliminary clinical data presented by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Wednesday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Milan. In Brazil and several other international markets, Wegovy is currently authorized only in its injectable format.
Switching from a weekly injection to a daily tablet is similar to swapping a weekly battery power bank for a daily wall charge: the daily routine changes, but the steady level of the active drug in the body must stay constant. In the 194-patient trial, participants who had previously used injectable GLP-1 drugs, including injectable Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide), lost an additional 4.1% of body weight on average over three months. Starting from a baseline average of 100.5 kg (221.5 lbs), patients lost an extra 4 kg (8.8 lbs), bringing the share of clinically obese participants down from 87.1% to 65.5%.
The race to bring pills to market is driven by steep commercial incentives. After becoming Europe's most valuable listed company in 2021 on the back of its injectable pens, Novo Nordisk saw its shares drop over 70% from their peak as American competitor Eli Lilly took the market lead. Daily tablets are cheaper to produce, avoid cold-chain transport constraints, and eliminate industrial bottlenecks in injector pen assembly. Novo Nordisk estimates that oral treatments could capture up to 50% of the obesity drug market by 2030. Martin Holst Lange, the company's chief scientific officer, argued that the findings show robust patient adherence to the daily tablet.
What we do not know yet
Despite corporate enthusiasm, significant questions remain. A cohort of 194 participants is small, and three months is too brief a window to evaluate long-term digestive tolerance, dropout rates, or potential weight regain. Furthermore, oral semaglutide requires strict adherence: it must be taken on an empty stomach with a small sip of water, followed by a wait of at least 30 minutes before food, beverage, or other medications. In real-world conditions, small lapses can substantially reduce drug absorption.
For patients currently undergoing obesity treatments in Brazil, the practical takeaway is to stay the course with existing therapies. The oral version of Wegovy has not yet been approved by Brazil's health surveillance agency, Anvisa, and has no set local launch date. Medical professionals advise continuing authorized treatments under clinical supervision and avoiding unverified imports or unregulated compounded alternatives.