Novo Nordisk still sees potential in Ozempic for Alzheimer’s, despite trial setbacks

Novo Nordisk says it still thinks GLP-1 drugs could be a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s, despite two disappointing trials last month.

Novo Nordisk says it still thinks GLP-1 drugs could be a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s, despite two major trials last month that found an older drug similar to Ozempic had no effect in slowing early-stage disease.

While GLP-1 drugs have become synonymous with dramatic weight loss, they’ve also become one of the most closely watched experimental approaches for slowing Alzheimer’s, a disease with few treatment options.

That’s why Novo Nordisk’s announcement last month that it discontinued two large trials — evoke and evoke+ — was viewed as a major setback for Alzheimer’s researchers and patient advocates.

“This is not what we hoped for,” Dr. Peter Johannsen, Novo Nordisk’s international medical vice president of obesity and cardiometabolic, said in an interview. “We really did expect a change.”

Scientists have spent years studying how GLP-1 medications affect inflammation, metabolism and blood vessels in the brain — factors long suspected to contribute to Alzheimer’s, said Donna Wilcock, the director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Obesity and diabetes — both treated by GLP-1 drugs — are also risk factors for Alzheimer’s and can cause changes in the brain that look similar to the disease.