Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is presenting a series of post hoc analyses at the 2026 Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, underscoring semaglutide’s potential across multiple obesity-related conditions.
The analyses draw from four major clinical trial programs, including SELECT, STEP, ESSENCE, and OASIS, covering conditions from obstructive sleep apnea to liver disease.
“These new analyses build on the growing body of clinical evidence for semaglutide, an important medicine that has already been extensively studied not only in obesity but also in cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis,” said Andrea Traina, Pharm.D., senior medical director, Obesity and Liver Health, Novo Nordisk.
Traina added that the company is continuing to invest in deepening its understanding of semaglutide’s potential to better serve patients across a diverse set of obesity-related complications.
One post hoc analysis of the SELECT trial found that semaglutide injection 2.4 mg was associated with a significantly lower incidence of obstructive sleep apnea, with a hazard ratio of 0.48 compared with placebo in adults with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease.
Among participants without OSA at baseline, there were 95 incident cases of the condition, with 30 in the semaglutide group versus 65 in the placebo group.
A separate SELECT post hoc analysis found that patients with established cardiovascular disease, asthma, and overweight or obesity treated with semaglutide 2.4 mg had a lower incidence of asthma-related adverse events, with 27 cases versus 46 in the placebo group, representing a hazard ratio of 0.58.
That same asthma analysis also found a 38.9% reduction in high sensitivity C-reactive protein from baseline at week 104 among semaglutide-treated patients, with no changes observed in blood eosinophil or neutrophil counts.
A pooled analysis from the STEP and OASIS programs showed that semaglutide injection 2.4 mg was associated with significant improvements in systolic blood pressure among 597 adults with uncontrolled hypertension, with an estimated treatment difference of negative 5.48 mmHg compared to placebo.
“Obesity is a chronic disease that can cause many complications in the body, contributing to serious comorbidities and broader health issues,” said Domenica Rubino, MD, founder and director of the Washington Center for Weight Management and Research.
Rubino noted that these analyses span the full spectrum of semaglutide’s clinical trial programs and add to the understanding of how the drug may impact obesity-related complications beyond weight loss alone.
In liver health findings from the ESSENCE trial’s first 800 randomized participants, semaglutide 2.4 mg delivered consistent improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors and liver health parameters versus placebo at up to week 72, regardless of baseline glycemia level in people with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis.
A post hoc analysis of the OASIS 4 trial found that patients in the overweight or obesity class I cohort treated with semaglutide tablets 25 mg showed similar or greater cardiometabolic improvements compared to the obesity class II and III cohort by week 64.
Novo Nordisk emphasized that all results are exploratory and hypothesis-generating, and that semaglutide is not approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, hypertension, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
