India Pharma Outlook Team | Thursday, 20 August 2026
Wegovy pill has entered a new late-stage clinical trial as Novo Nordisk looks for the lowest dose that can still deliver meaningful weight loss.
The study could help the company offer more flexible treatment options for people using oral semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk started the Wegovy pill study, called OASIS 5, on August 12, 2026. The trial will run for 60 weeks and is expected to continue through 2028. It will include 450 adults with overweight or obesity.
The company has not disclosed the exact lower doses that will be tested. The study will compare lower doses of oral semaglutide with a placebo. It will assess weight loss and other health benefits linked to the treatment.
The new trial comes as demand for oral weight-loss drugs grows. Novo Nordisk is also facing stronger competition in the obesity drug market. The company wants to know whether patients can maintain weight loss with a lower dose. A lower dose could also help reduce treatment-related side effects.
The trial will study whether lower doses can provide enough benefits while improving treatment tolerance.
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The approved long-term dose of the Wegovy pill is currently 25 mg. Lower strengths of 1.5 mg, 4 mg, and 9 mg are also available during dose escalation. Novo Nordisk has not said which doses will be evaluated in the new trial.
The company is looking at lower maintenance doses instead of simply testing the standard 25 mg dose. The goal is to identify the lowest dose that can maintain meaningful results. The move also comes amid growing interest in lower-dose use. Some patients have reportedly turned to lower doses because of treatment costs and concerns about side effects.
The new study builds on earlier OASIS 4 results. In that trial, oral semaglutide 25 mg produced an average weight loss of about 17% when patients remained on treatment. Novo Nordisk also reported that nearly one-third of early responders achieved 21.6% weight loss by week 64.
The new trial could now answer another important question: How low can the Wegovy pill dose go while still working effectively? The findings may help Novo Nordisk expand dosing options as competition in the obesity treatment market increases.
