Global insulin pioneer Novo Nordisk has launched the world’s first and only oral peptide medication – semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor analogue (GLP-1 RA) – for diabetes management in India. This medication, one of the most important therapeutic classes to treat diabetes, was only available in the form of injections. Oral semaglutide is a co-formulation of GLP-1RA semaglutide with an absorption enhancer SNAC that protects semaglutide from undergoing degradation in the stomach like other peptides and enhances its absorption. Novo Nordisk, which won the prestigious Prix Galien Award in 2020 for this revolutionary drug development work that involved some 15 years of continuous research, has also launched the unique diabetes pill  in five other global markets.  

According to medical experts, semaglutide delivers unprecedented HbA1c control and unsurpassed weight loss, with a well-established safety profile consistent with the GLP-1 RA class.  The drug, which has undergone 10 rigorous Phase 3a clinical trials called PIONEER, across several countries including India, recently completed global trials involving more than 10,000 patients, including 1,000 participants from India.