Research Study Investigating How Well Semaglutide Works in People Suffering From Overweight or Obesity

NCT03548987 · Completed

Last updated 2026-05-28

This clinical trial is testing how well the medication semaglutide works to help people with overweight or obesity lose weight over 68 weeks.

Status Completed The study has finished.

Phase Phase 3 Confirms effectiveness in a large group before approval.

Type Interventional (clinical trial)

Design Randomized, quadruple-blind treatment study

Participants 902 people

Who can join Ages 18+ · all sexes

Timeline Started 2018-06 · est. completion 2020-03

Where 72 sites · Denmark, Israel, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States

What this study is testing ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548987 ↗

Description as written by the study sponsor.

This study will look at the change in participant's body weight from the start to the end of the study. This is to compare the effect on body weight in people taking semaglutide (a new medicine) and people taking "dummy" medicine. In addition to taking the medicine, the participant will have talks with study staff about healthy food choices, how to be more physically active and what a participant can do to lose weight. The participant will get semaglutide for the first 20 weeks. Then the participant will get either semaglutide or "dummy" medicine - which treatment the participant gets after the 20 weeks is decided by chance. The participants will need to take 1 injection once a week. The study medicine is injected with a thin needle in a skin fold in the stomach, thigh or upper arm. The study will last for about 1.5 years.

Treatments tested

Semaglutide Drug

Subcutaneous (under the skin) injection of semaglutide once-weekly.
Placebo Drug

Subcutaneous (under the skin) injection of semaglutide placebo once-weekly.

Main thing measured	Change From Randomisation to Week 68 in Body Weight (%)
Sponsor	Novo Nordisk A/S
Conditions studied	Metabolism and Nutrition Disorder, Obesity
GLP-1 drugs	semaglutide

Full protocol, eligibility, and contacts on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03548987 ↗