UK Launches £2.7 Million Semaglutide Trial in 270 Patients for Alcohol Dependency and Obesity
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 23
UK Launches £2.7 Million Semaglutide Trial in 270 Patients for Alcohol Dependency and Obesity
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 23
Summary
A four-year UK trial will start recruiting next month to test whether semaglutide can cut alcohol intake while helping obese patients with alcohol dependence lose weight and improve liver health.
Nottingham and Plymouth teams will enroll about 270 NHS patients with BMI of at least 30 plus liver scarring or cirrhosis, splitting 268 recruits between weekly semaglutide injections and placebo for 36 weeks.
Researchers say the study targets a major treatment gap because alcohol misuse and obesity together accelerate liver damage, and no current therapy addresses both conditions at once.
The NHS estimates alcohol misuse costs it about £5 billion a year, while harmful drinking remains the UK's leading cause of liver disease and a major source of preventable deaths.
The trial builds on growing reports that GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic may reduce alcohol cravings, potentially opening a new NHS treatment route if the results hold.