Successful Diabetes Pill Trials Signal Big Change for Diabetes Treatment

Novo Nordisk recently announced that clinical trials for its semaglutide pill found that the drug is more effective and better tolerated than expected.

Semaglutide, normally delivered as an injectable, is a GLP-1 that stimulates insulin production in patients with diabetes. 

Novo Nordisk announced that the first phase 3 trail met its primary goal of demonstrating that oral semaglutide provided significant and superior improvement in long-term blood sugar level compared with placebo. 

The clinical trial studied oral semaglutide in three doses, 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg. The researchers found that 14 mg of oral semaglutide was also associated with weight loss among study participants.

Additionally, adverse events associated with oral semaglutide, specifically nausea were not significantly higher than the injectable form. The researchers reported that mild to moderate nausea levels were only detected in 5% to 16% of study participants—less than levels commonly reported among injectable insulin stimulators. 

Novo Nordisk plans to release study data for nine more clinical trials before the end of 2018. Pending FDA approval, the pill is expected to enter the market sometime in 2020—and could significantly improve adherence and outcomes among patients who struggle to control diabetes with injections. —David Costill