Ozempic's Successor: Women Lost 25% of Weight on CagriSema

Novo Nordisk's experimental drug CagriSema helped women with obesity or overweight lose an average of 25% of their body weight over 68 weeks. The company presented the data on October 20, 2026, at the annual meeting of The Menopause Society in San Diego.

What the data shows

This is a new look at the finished REDEFINE 1 trial, not a new study. It covered 2,309 women who took CagriSema 2.4 mg once a week. Women on placebo lost just 3%.

Novo also split 1,902 participants by menopause stage:

• before menopause: 26.7% weight loss;
• during the transition (perimenopause): 24.8%;
• after menopause: 23.1%.

In plain numbers, a woman weighing 220 pounds lost about 55 pounds in a year and a half. Results after menopause were a bit lower, but the gap was smaller than many would expect.

"Many women with obesity or overweight experience weight gain as they move through menopause," said Michelle Skinner Moore, Novo Nordisk's vice president of medical affairs.

What CagriSema is

It is a weekly shot combining two drugs. One is semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. The other is cagrilintide, a copy of the hormone amylin, which helps signal fullness. The idea: two "I'm full" signals instead of one.

Why the 25% needs context

• It is an after-the-fact analysis. These "post hoc" looks happen after a trial ends. Novo itself says they only generate hypotheses that need more study.
• It counts people who stayed on the drug. Across all 3,417 REDEFINE 1 participants, weight loss was 22.7%, or 20.4% when counting those who stopped (published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025).
• The rival is still ahead. In the head-to-head REDEFINE 4 trial (809 people, 84 weeks), CagriSema led to 23.0% weight loss versus 25.5% for tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). CagriSema missed the trial's main goal, Novo announced on February 23, 2026.

Side effects

Mostly stomach and gut problems. In REDEFINE 1, 79.6% of people on the drug reported them versus 39.9% on placebo: nausea in 55%, constipation in 30.7%, vomiting in 26.1%. Most were mild to moderate and faded over time. 6% stopped treatment because of side effects.

When you can get it

Not yet, anywhere. Novo filed with the FDA in December 2025, and a decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. It is not approved in the EU, and no timelines elsewhere have been announced.

If you are considering weight-loss injections, talk to a doctor: drugs already on the market deliver similar results. For more on how food shapes appetite, read our piece on ultra-processed food.