Post hoc analysis of phase IIIa SCALE study of Saxenda (liraglutide) in treatment of Obesity- Novo Nordisk

Data from a post hoc analysis of the three-year part of the phase IIIa SCALE™ (Satiety and Clinical Adiposity – Liraglutide Evidence) Obesity and Prediabetes trial were presented at the first European Obesity Summit (EOS 2016). Adults with prediabetes and obesity or who were overweight with comorbidities were randomised to receive Saxenda (n=1,505) or placebo (n=749) for 160 weeks, both as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

People treated with Saxenda who lost 5% or more of their body weight at 16 weeks (classified as ‘early responders’) demonstrated greater weight loss and improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors at week 160 compared with those who lost less than 5% of their body weight at 16 weeks (‘early non-responders’). At week 16, 68.0% of people treated with Saxenda were early responders versus 22.3% of people treated with placebo. At week 160, Saxenda early responders who completed the trial (n=580) achieved an average weight loss of 8.6% (9.1 kg), compared with 2.9% (3.1 kg) in early non-responders (n=210). In addition, Saxenda early responders experienced improvements across a range of glycaemic measures including regression to normoglycaemia (69.8 vs 55.4%) and reduced development of type 2 diabetes (0.5 vs 3.2%) compared with early non-responders.For those completing 160 weeks of treatment, Saxenda early responders also experienced greater improvements in systolic blood pressure (-3.7 vs -3.3 mmHg), and improvements in health-related quality of life measures (IWQoL-Lite score 13.4 vs 9.5) compared with early non-responders. Saxenda was generally well-tolerated, and observed side effects were in line with previous trials.