Real-world data: Novo's Wegovy pill cuts weight by 6.2% over three months

what happened

Adults who kept taking Novo Nordisk's daily Wegovy pill lost 6.2% of their body weight on average over three months, Reuters reports. The figures come from real-world data that will be presented at the ObesityWeek conference in Washington.

Novo's chief scientific officer, Martin Holst Lange, called the findings encouraging, since they closely track the 5.5% reduction at 12 weeks seen in the company's late-stage trial of the pill. Participants started treatment between January 5 and February 7, 2026, and on average shed 6.3 kg (13.9 lb) from a starting weight of 103.0 kg (227 lb), according to Novo. Around 60% of them lost at least 5% of their weight, and roughly one in six reached 10% or more.

The analysis included 5,872 adults using the Ro telehealth platform who had never taken a weight-loss medication and completed the full three months.

why it matters

The pill, launched in January, has helped Novo win back some ground in its race with Eli Lilly for oral obesity treatments. Novo's shares have dropped more than 70% from their peak, while company presentations put oral drugs at about a third of US obesity prescriptions, with Novo capturing over 80% of new oral scripts. Earlier, the company pointed to separate data showing its pill cut weight by about 14% over 64 weeks, compared with roughly 11% over 72 weeks for Lilly's Foundayo pill in other studies.

market impact

Novo Nordisk: encouraging real-world data on its oral drug, in its competition with Eli Lilly

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