Rybelsus Timeline: Week by Week, What Changes and When
STEP 1 ran 68 weeks. By the end, people on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly had lost 14.9% of their body weight on average, against 2.4% on placebo. Side effects are most common in the first weeks and after each dose increase.
- Average loss, top dose
- 14.9%
- On placebo
- 2.4%
- Trial length
- 68 weeks
- Trial
- STEP 1
Rybelsus in brief
Its half-life is about 1 week: after 7 d half is gone, and after five half-lives (35 d) about 3% is left.
In PIONEER 1, a 26-week trial in people with type 2 diabetes, 3.7 kg was lost against 1.4 kg on placebo.
In US dollars, these monthly figures show the list price plus the self-pay offers. Each one comes from the maker's price page.
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed), healthsystemtracker.org, Novo Nordisk pricing, Novo Nordisk.
Rybelsus timeline: the numbers first
Blood sugar was the main focus of Rybelsus testing. The weight trials shown here are for Wegovy, which is the same medicine at a higher dose.
| Trial | Dose group | Average weight lost | Placebo or comparison | Weeks | Who was in it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP 1 | Semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly | 14.9% | 2.4% | 68 | Adults with obesity or overweight, without diabetes |
| OASIS 4 | Wegovy pill 25 mg daily | 13.6% | 2.4% | 64 | Adults with obesity or overweight, without diabetes |
| STEP 2 | Semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly | 9.6% | 3.4% | 68 | Adults who are overweight or obese and also have type 2 diabetes |
Sources: STEP 1 (FDA label (DailyMed)), STEP 2 (PubMed).
How to read the average in pounds
Across three different starting weights, the trial average came to 14.9%. This is arithmetic, not a prediction about any one person. Some lose more, others lose less.
| Starting weight | Average loss on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly | Average loss on placebo |
|---|---|---|
| 180 lb | about 27 lb | about 4 lb |
| 220 lb | about 33 lb | about 5 lb |
| 260 lb | about 39 lb | about 6 lb |
Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).
Week by week
- Early on, stomach side effects are most common while the dose stays low and gets raised. After each dose increase, they often come back for a few days.
- STEP 1 ends at Week 68, and that is the point when the average loss listed above was measured.
Sources: health.clevelandclinic.org, PubMed.