Wegovy pills as effective as shots for weight loss in trial

A pill form of the weight loss drug Wegovy was as effective as injections for people with obesity in a clinical trial, the drug's manufacturer said.

Novo Nordisk said in its news release that participants in the trial who were obese and who took semaglutide 25 mg — the once-daily pill of its injectable Wegovy — lost an average 16% of their body weight if they followed the treatment as directed, compared with a placebo group that lost 2.7%.

The result was "comparable with previous trial results of injectable Wegovy," according to the release.

The study results were released Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Semaglutide is a medication originally used to treat type 2 diabetes, but was also approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long-term weight loss, accordin