A small study of 10 participants found that semaglutide, the generic for Ozempic and Wegovy, could minimize or eliminate the need for Type 1 diabetes patients to take insulin.
Four researchers at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) analyzed the efficacy of semaglutide among 10 patients who received care at the university's medical centers between 2020 and 2022. The patients began taking the drug within three months of being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
The study was published Sept. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
After six months of taking semaglutide, seven stopped taking basal insulin as clinicians performed continuous glucose monitoring. During a year of observation, the use of semaglutide in Type 1 diabetes patients correlated with higher C-peptide levels and better glycemic control, the researchers found.
They concluded more data is needed to draw conclusions, but the study's lead author, Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, said the results surprised him.
"I was absolutely shocked that we could get rid of fast-acting insulin in three months and then basal insulin in seven out of 10 patients," Dr. Dandona told NBC News. "It was almost like science fiction."