By Deena Beasley

SAN DIEGO Dec 2 (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk in 2020 launched pivotal trials of its GLP-1 drug semaglutide in Alzheimer’s patients based on studies in humans, animals and real-world findings, a top company executive said on Tuesday, acknowledging criticism that Novo’s studies had design flaws.

Although the trials failed to show statistically significant slowing of cognitive decline in patients given the drug, “we still think it was the right decision… a scientific question that needed an answer,” Peter Johannsen, Novo’s international medical vice president, said in an address at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease meeting in San Diego.

Data, now consolidated on Novo’s website, had shown evidence that the GLP-1 hormone is involved in neurotransmission, with multiple e

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