Semaglutide as a promising antiobesity drug

Semaglutide is a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1 RA) with a long elimination half‐life, allowing subcutaneous (sc) administration once per week. Both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved once‐weekly sc semaglutide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The weight loss efficacy of once‐weekly sc semaglutide appears to be superior compared with the other once‐weekly GLP‐1 RAs in patients with T2DM. Semaglutide was recently evaluated as an antiobesity drug in a phase II dose‐finding trial, which demonstrated superior weight loss efficacy of once daily sc semaglutide compared with both placebo and once daily 3.0 mg liraglutide in patients with obesity but without T2DM. The magnitude of semaglutide‐induced weight loss in this study exceeded the criteria of both the EMA and FDA for antiobesity drugs, and there were no safety concerns, indicating the eligibility of once daily sc semaglutide as a future antiobesity drug.