People switching from weight-loss injections to Wegovy pill lost 4.1% body weight on average after three months – Novo
Novo announced new real-world data from the OCTANE study, an analysis of de-identified data from the Ro telehealth platform.
In the study, adults with overweight or obesity who switched from an injectable GLP-1 based medicine for weight management – either tirzepatide or semaglutide – to once-daily oral semaglutide (Wegovy pill) and stayed on treatment for 3 months lost an average of 4.1% or 8.8 lbs based on an average starting weight of 221.6 lbs (p <0.001).
OCTANE was presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy.
This analysis represents the first in a previously announced collaboration between Ro and Novo to look at real-world outcomes of weight-loss medication users. It is among the first real-world evidence describing weight loss and other patient experience outcomes in people who switched from injectable weight loss therapy to oral semaglutide. The proportion of patients classified as living with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m²) fell from 87.1% at baseline to 65.5% at three months.
“We innovate to meet people with obesity where they are. Some people may choose to switch from injectable to pill — whether that is because of needle anxiety, lifestyle, or simply personal preference,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president, head of Research & Development, and chief scientific officer at Novo. “The OCTANE data give us a unique and encouraging early look at what happened in a real-world analysis where patients switched from injectable therapies. After switching, patients experienced significant weight loss and reported treatment satisfaction and lifestyle improvements. That combination of results is promising for future research.”
Real-world evidence gathered from actual patient experiences can complement randomized control trials, which are the gold standard for evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment. Real-world studies evaluate associations and cannot determine causality. Limitations of the OCTANE study include: variable timing and completeness of data being collected during routine telehealth care; self-reported data being subject to bias; requiring treatment persistence could result in selection bias; and results not being generalizable to the broader population.
“In everyday clinical practice, we see patients who respond well to injectable GLP-1 based therapy but who, for personal or practical reasons, want to try an oral option,” said Louis J. Aronne, MD, Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, and co-author of the study. “What the OCTANE data showed is that a switch to oral semaglutide may be a viable path for the right patient, with real weight loss and lifestyle improvements in the first three months. It also showed that oral semaglutide helped many participants achieve a BMI under the clinical threshold of obesity (BMI <30 kg/m²). These are exciting early insights on how the pill can individualize obesity care, and we look forward to seeing longer-term outcomes.”
The Wegovy pill is launched in the US, United Arab Emirates, UK, and Germany. Novo will launch the Wegovy pill in select markets in the coming quarters.
About OCTANE
OCTANE was a retrospective cohort analysis evaluating weight change, treatment adherence and patient satisfaction, 3 months after switching from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to oral semaglutide for weight management among adults with obesity or overweight with at least 1 obesity-related complication (ORC) enrolled in the Ro telehealth platform. The study included a random sample of adults with obesity or overweight (BMI 27-29.9 kg/m2) with at least one ORC (hypertension, dyslipidemia, OSA, CVD) and no history of diabetes or bariatric surgery who were continuously enrolled in the Ro telehealth platform (integrating electronic health records, patient reported data, and pharmacy records). Patients included in this cohort switched from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to oral semaglutide (between 1/5/2026-2/7/2026). Patients did not need to be taking injectable weight loss medication for any particular period of time, or to have lost any weight on a prior injectable therapy, to be included in the analysis. Persistence on oral semaglutide over the 3-month follow-up period (no gap > 30 days) was required, as well as self-reported baseline weight within 30 days and at 3 months (+/- 15 days). Changes in weight and BMI from baseline to 3 months were evaluated. Treatment improvements were self-reported at 3 months (+/- 15 days) as available using a predefined checklist. The final sample included 194 patients, with a mean baseline weight of 100.5 kg (221.6 lb), mean BMI of 34.5 kg/m2. Mean time of enrollment (onboarding to Ro platform) to start of oral semaglutide was 5.2 months. Mean time from last injectable prescription to oral semaglutide initiation was 36.8 days.
