Ozempic in Phase II for AUD

Intriguing evidence that these drugs may also help people with alcohol use disorder limit drinking has motivated some doctors to try prescribing GLP-1s for those individuals, too. Much of the evidence that has so far been published on alcohol use disorder has relied on animal research or patient records.

Trial Summary: The JAMA study, by comparison, randomly assigned people with obesity or who were overweight and also had alcohol use disorder to receive either placebo or a low dose of semaglutide, the active drug contained in Ozempic and Wegovy. Researchers then tested how much the drug changed drinking habits after about two months. Using a test in which trial volunteers were offered their preferred beverage to drink over two hours, the study found people who received either semaglutide or placebo drank less during the test at the end of the eight-week treatment period than they did at the beginning. Comparatively, though, study participants on semaglutide drank about 50% less than the people given placebo asmeasured by breath alcohol concentration and grams of alcohol consumed. On a weekly basis, semaglutide was associated with a statistical reduction in drinks per drinking day, but not in drinks per calendar day. Treatment did not seem to affect the number of drinking days versus abstinent days, but reduced participants’ reported cravings on a questionnaire.  

The trial, which involved just 48 people, is not a conclusive verdict on semaglutide’s efficacy in this setting. And the results are far short of what would be needed for the  FDA to formally approve the drug’s use in alcohol use disorder. Still, the findings should provide some encouragement to Novo, which has a larger and longer-duration Phase II trial testing semaglutide, another obesity drug called cagrilintide and an experimental liver drug on people with alcohol use disorder and liver disease.

Citation: February 12, 2025- Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use DisorderA Randomized Clinical Trial; Christian S. Hendershot, PhD; Michael P. Bremmer, MA; Michael B. Paladino, BS et alGeorgios Kostantinis, BA; Thomas A. Gilmore, BA; Neil R. Sullivan, BA; Amanda C. Tow, MD, PhD; Sarah S. Dermody, PhD, CPsych; Mark A. Prince, PhD; Robyn Jordan, MD, PhD; Sherry A. McKee, PhD; Paul J. Fletcher, PhD; Eric D. Claus, PhD; Klara R. Klein, MD, PhD. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online February 12, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4789.