Novo Nordisk reports data showing value of early Saxenda response rates

Novo Nordisk has announced new clinical data showing how early responses to Saxenda can be useful in predicting longer-term outcomes.

A post-hoc analysis of the phase IIIa SCALE clinical development programme was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes' annual meeting, highlighting the utility of monitoring early response rates for the drug.

Adults in the SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes and SCALE Diabetes trials who lost at least five percent of their body weight after completing 16 weeks of Saxenda treatment were shown to ultimately experience greater weight loss after 56 weeks.

Professor Matthias Bluher, head of the obesity outpatient clinic at the University of Leipzig, said: "Not only are these Saxenda early responders more likely to achieve greater weight loss over time, they are also more likely to experience greater improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors."

The overall safety profile of the drug was also shown to be generally comparable between early responders and non-responders.

Saxenda was approved in Europe earlier this year as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for weight management in obese and overweight adults in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as dysglycaemia, hypertension, dyslipidaemia or obstructive sleep apnoea.