Novo Nordisk announced on October 20, 2026, that its experimental obesity medication CagriSema helped women lose an average of 25.0% of their body weight over 68 weeks in a newly released analysis of late-stage clinical data. Presented at The Menopause Society 2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego, the findings come from two post hoc evaluations of the company's Phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial, according to Novo Nordisk. The Danish pharmaceutical maker is advancing the once-weekly injection to strengthen its clinical standing as competition with rival drugmaker Eli Lilly shapes the global weight-management market.
In the first evaluation of 2,309 women living with obesity or overweight, participants receiving a fixed-dose combination of cagrilintide 2.4 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg achieved an estimated 25.0% weight reduction at week 68, compared with 3.0% among those given a placebo, assuming all participants adhered to the treatment regimen. According to Reuters, this female-specific result hits the 25% benchmark that the broader trial population missed earlier, when the overall REDEFINE 1 study of more than 3,400 adults recorded an average weight loss of 22.7%.
Evaluating Weight Loss Across Menopause Stages
The latest clinical data examine how hormonal transitions affect metabolic treatments in female patients. More than 86 million women in the United States are aged 40 and older, the period when perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause typically take place. Hormonal shifts during these stages frequently contribute to increased abdominal fat accumulation, shifts in body composition, and elevated cardiometabolic risk, yet reproductive status is rarely isolated as a specific variable in obesity research.
To address this gap, researchers conducted a second post hoc analysis involving 1,902 women from the REDEFINE 1 trial categorized by their menopausal stage. As reported by CNBC, women who adhered to CagriSema achieved notable weight reductions across all three reproductive categories at the 68-week mark:
- Premenopausal participants: 26.7% average weight loss with CagriSema, compared with 2.1% on placebo (among 408 treated and 122 placebo participants, with baseline weights of 104.3 kg and 107.1 kg, respectively).
- Perimenopausal participants: 24.8% average weight loss with CagriSema, compared with 1.7% on placebo.
- Postmenopausal participants: 23.1% average weight loss with CagriSema, compared with 2.6% on placebo (among 530 treated and 168 placebo participants, with baseline weights of 99.1 kg and 99.3 kg, respectively).
Alongside overall weight reduction, the study tracked meaningful improvements in waist circumference, a secondary trial endpoint closely linked to abdominal fat deposits. Michelle Skinner Moore, PharmD, MBA, interim head of clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs and vice president of medical affairs at Novo Nordisk, noted in the company announcement that because many women experience weight gain during the menopausal transition, evaluating investigational medications across the reproductive lifespan provides valuable clinical context.
How Dual-Action Therapy Compares to the Broader Market
CagriSema is designed as a next-generation therapy that combines two distinct mechanisms into a single once-weekly injection. It pairs semaglutide—the active GLP-1 receptor agonist found in Novo Nordisk's existing medications—with cagrilintide, a dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist. By targeting both biological pathways, the medication aims to regulate appetite and slow digestion more effectively than single-hormone treatments.
Both investors and healthcare consumers are closely tracking how this dual-hormone approach measures up against Eli Lilly's obesity portfolio. While Novo Nordisk highlighted the 25.0% reduction in the female subgroup, Reuters points out that the previously reported 22.7% overall adult trial average fell short of the company's initial 25% target. Meanwhile, according to Yahoo Finance, Eli Lilly's tirzepatide reached nearly 26% weight loss at its maximum dose in a separate head-to-head comparison trial known as REDEFINE 4.
Medical researchers caution against drawing definitive rankings from isolated figures across different study designs. The newly released REDEFINE 1 numbers represent post hoc subgroup evaluations—meaning the analyses were framed after the main trial concluded—and rely on an efficacy estimand that assumes continuous patient adherence to the medication, rather than measuring outcomes across all participants regardless of whether they stopped treatment early.
Safety Profile, Side Effects, and Patient Considerations
For patients and clinicians considering the future of prescription weight management, tolerability remains just as important as percentage weight loss. In the REDEFINE 1 trial, CagriSema displayed a side-effect profile consistent with established metabolic therapies. Gastrointestinal adverse events were the most common complaint, reported by 79.6% of participants taking CagriSema compared with 39.9% of those taking a placebo. These events primarily included nausea, vomiting, and constipation.
Despite the high frequency of digestive symptoms, most participants remained on the therapy throughout the 68-week duration. Treatment discontinuation due to adverse events occurred in 5.9% of the CagriSema group, compared with 3.5% in the placebo group.
Is CagriSema currently approved by the FDA?
No. CagriSema remains an investigational medication undergoing clinical evaluation for obesity and type 2 diabetes. It has not yet received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and an official regulatory decision timeline has not been established in the current trial disclosures.
Why did the women's analysis show higher weight loss than the overall trial?
The 25.0% average weight loss reflects a specific post hoc subgroup of 2,309 female participants who adhered to the treatment protocol for 68 weeks. By contrast, the 22.7% figure reported earlier encompasses the entire REDEFINE 1 study population of more than 3,400 men and women.
Can patients directly compare these results to Eli Lilly's medications?
Not directly from this release. Because the new CagriSema data come from a female subgroup analysis rather than a prespecified head-to-head trial against a competing drug, clinicians rely on full peer-reviewed datasets and standardized trial methodologies before comparing efficacy across different pharmaceutical brands.
