📈 CagriSema in Women: Unpacking the 25% Headline
Novo Nordisk’s next-generation weekly shot, CagriSema, posted some eye-catching numbers for women in new analyses of its big late-stage trial. 🔬 Here’s what the data show, plus the fine print that comes with them.
📰 What Happened
On Oct. 20, Novo announced results from two post hoc analyses of its phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial. The results were presented at The Menopause Society’s 2026 annual meeting in San Diego.
The first analysis looked at all 2,309 women in the trial, all of whom had obesity or overweight. Women on CagriSema lost an average of 25.0% of their body weight at 68 weeks, compared with 3.0% on placebo. For comparison, Novo’s release shows women on semaglutide alone averaged 19.0%, and those on cagrilintide alone averaged 13.4%.
The second analysis grouped 1,902 women by menopause stage. Average weight loss at 68 weeks was 26.7% for premenopausal women, 24.8% for perimenopausal women and 23.1% for postmenopausal women. Placebo groups lost about 2%. Both analyses also showed smaller waist measurements, which are linked to belly fat.
Now for the fine print. 🧐 These numbers come from what Novo calls the efficacy estimand. That’s an idealized scenario in which everyone stays on treatment and uses no other weight-loss therapy. The menopause groups were assigned after the trial using age, medical history and symptoms, not hormone tests, and Novo says no formal test checked whether the differences between groups are real. The company calls the analyses hypothesis-generating, meaning they raise questions for future studies rather than settle them.
🔙 The Backstory
CagriSema pairs two ingredients in one weekly injection. The first is semaglutide, the GLP-1 medicine in Wegovy and Ozempic. The second is cagrilintide, a long-acting version of amylin. Amylin is a hormone the pancreas releases alongside insulin, and CNBC explains that it helps regulate hunger and fullness.
REDEFINE 1 enrolled 3,417 adults with obesity or overweight who didn’t have type 2 diabetes, and about two-thirds were women. Across everyone, CagriSema led to 22.7% average weight loss at 68 weeks, compared with 2.3% on placebo. Reuters notes that figure fell short of the 25% Novo had targeted, and CNBC reports that earlier results disappointed investors.
Side effects matter too. In the full trial, Novo reports that gastrointestinal side effects affected 79.6% of people on CagriSema versus 39.9% on placebo, with nausea the most common. About 5.9% of people on CagriSema stopped because of side effects, compared with 3.5% on placebo.
🔮 What’s Next
CagriSema is still investigational and isn’t approved in the U.S. Novo says it filed for FDA approval in December 2025 and expects a decision in the fourth quarter of 2026, which Reuters also reports.
Heads up on timing: CNBC says CagriSema is expected to launch early next year. That doesn’t necessarily conflict with a decision this quarter, since approval and launch can be months apart, but Novo’s release itself doesn’t give a launch date.
On the science, Novo and the lead researcher, Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Maria D. Hurtado Andrade, both say more research is needed to understand how reproductive aging might affect weight loss.
🩺 Your Care Team Knows Best
Have questions about what new research might mean for you? Bring them to your doctor or pharmacist. They can help put the headlines in context for your own health.
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📚 Sources
Novo Nordisk U.S. press release: CagriSema weight loss in women (Oct. 20, 2026)