Novo: 23 of 26 semaglutide 7.2 mg participants with excess liver fat reached normal levels – in a post hoc analysis of 55 people

What the record establishes

• ●STEP UP and STEP UP T2D were Phase 3b randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials; the pooled analysis covers 1,919 adults (semaglutide 7.2 mg n=1,312, 2.4 mg n=304, placebo n=303).
• ●The liver-fat sub-analysis included 55 participants with excess liver fat. Of 26 with baseline liver fat above 5%, 23 (88.5%) were below 5% at week 72; mean liver fat fell from 8.8% to 3.1%.
• ●Novo states the analysis was post hoc and exploratory and not a pre-specified primary or secondary endpoint of the parent trials. It was presented at EASD 2026 in Milan on October 1, 2026.
• ●The release gives no adverse-event data and does not report which dose arm the 26 participants were in.

What it does not establish

• ○A company release is the sponsor's summary. The analysis is not peer-reviewed and the underlying data are not public.
• ○Twenty-six participants cannot establish how often semaglutide normalizes liver fat. The headline '9 out of 10' rests on that small base.
• ○Liver fat on imaging is not liver outcomes. The release does not report fibrosis change, liver events, or longer-term follow-up, and fewer than 1% of participants met advanced-fibrosis criteria.
• ○Nothing here applies to compounded or research-use semaglutide, whose contents and dose are outside the trial.

What would change this

A peer-reviewed publication or poster with dose-arm breakdown and confidence intervals, or a pre-specified liver endpoint from a dedicated trial.

Sources

1. [1]
   Novo's Wegovy (semaglutide) reduced liver fat to normal levels in 9 out of 10 adults with obesity and excess liver fat – EASD2026 (Novo Nordisk, 2026-10-01)

   primaryCompany press release

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