Novo Nordisk said a higher dose of its drug Wegovy led to greater weight loss in patients during a late-stage trial, but the results fell short of the weight loss achieved with Eli Lilly's rival drug Zepbound,

Novo Nordisk's high dose Wegovy (semaglutide) has shown improved weight loss while remaining safe and tolerable.

A new study highlighted Monday the potential benefits of popular diabetes drugs on a wide range of health issues including dementia and cardiovascular diseases, although experts warned against seeing them as miracle drugs.

Wegovy, the weight-loss brand of semaglutide, has a recommended maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. Novo ran the Phase III STEP UP trial to evaluate the effect of increasing the maximum dose to 7.2 mg. The trial randomized 1,407 adults with obesity, but not diabetes, to receive either 7.2 mg or 2.4 mg of semaglutide or placebo.

In the ongoing quest to expand semaglutide’s clinical pedigree and cement the GLP-1's market position, Novo Nordisk is rolling out new data on a higher-dose injection in obesity. | In the phase 3b STEP UP study,

Novo and Valo originally partnered in September 2023 in an agreement to develop up to 11 drugs. With the expanded agreement, Novo will collaborate with Valo to discover and develop up to 20 new treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

The Biden administration says it will be including weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy in the next round of drug negotiations between medicare and the manufactures. Dr. Natalie Azar joins TODAY to break down what it all means.