Novo Nordisk said on Friday a late-stage trial with a high-dose version of its weight loss drug semaglutide helped overweight patients lower their weight by 20.7%.

Novo Nordisk said patients taking a bigger dose of its blockbuster obesity drug lost more weight than those on a lower dose, without experiencing an increase in side-effects.

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 Nordisk today announced headline results from STEP UP, a phase 3b trial in the global STEP programme. STEP UP is a 72-week efficacy and safety trial investigating subcutaneous semaglutide 7.2 mg compared to semaglutide 2.

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.

Shares of Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) fell 2% following the announcement of results from its STEP UP obesity trial, which showed that Semaglutide 7.2 mg achieved a 20.7% weight loss in participants, and 18.