Spots 
People who switched from obesity injections to Novo's new Wegovy pill continued to lose weight after three months, according to an analysis of real-world data the company presented.
Patients who switched from either a Wegovy shot or Lilly's Zepbound injection to the Wegovy pill and stayed on treatment for three months lost roughly 4% of their weight on average.
While there are limitations to real-world studies, the data suggests that patients may not need to take weekly injections forever, but can instead opt for more convenient treatments such as Novo's pill.
People who switched from obesity injections to Novo's new Wegovy pill continued to lose weight after three months, according to an analysis of real-world data the company presented on Wednesday.
Real-world studies evaluate associations and can't determine causality. But the results suggest that the Wegovy pill may improve upon the initial weight loss people experience on blockbuster injections rather than simply maintain it. It also suggests that patients may not need to take weekly shots like Wegovy and Zepbound forever, and can instead opt for more convenient treatments such as Novo's pill.
Novo's analysis used data from Ro's telehealth platform on 194 patients with obesity or who were overweight, around 56% of whom were female. Half started on Novo's Wegovy injection and the rest initially took Eli Lilly's shot Zepbound.
Patients who switched from an injection to the Wegovy pill and stayed on treatment for three months lost roughly 4% of their weight, or an additional 8.8 pounds, on average. That's based on an average starting weight of around 221 pounds before taking the pill, Novo said.
Of those participants, 2 in 5 achieved 5% or more weight loss three months after switching to the pill. Meanwhile, the share of people with a body mass index at or above 30 decreased by more than 21% three months after switching to oral Wegovy. A BMI of 30 shifts a person from the overweight category into obesity.
"We have the unique benefit that, in the market, the subcutaneous Wegovy can now be interchanged with a tablet of Wegovy, and the patient can expect the same tolerability profile, the same safety profile, and actually a little bit more weight loss, which is what a lot of them want," Martin Holst Lange, Novo's chief scientific officer, said in an interview.
Among patients with available data, around 82% reported at least one improvement during treatment with the pill. That includes almost 70% who reported better-fitting clothes and around 51% who said they pursued healthier eating. Around 75% of patients in the analysis said they were satisfied with the switch to a pill, according to Novo.
People who switched from obesity injections to Novo's new Wegovy pill continued to lose weight after three months, according to an analysis of real-world data the company presented.