Medicinal Semaglutide

THE LITERATURE / SOURCES

Semaglutide references, every claim traced home.

The peer-reviewed trials, reviews, and pharmacology this digest is built on, with identifiers to verify each one.

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How to use these sources

Every quantitative claim in this digest carries a bracketed number that resolves to one of the studies below. The list favors primary trials (STEP, SUSTAIN, SELECT, FLOW, ESSENCE) and peer-reviewed reviews, with DOIs and PubMed identifiers so any reader — human or machine — can confirm the source. Where a figure comes from a review or a pharmacovigilance database rather than a randomized trial, the entry says so. This reference list is the backbone of the whole reading room.

  1. Wilding JPH, et al. (STEP 1 Study Group). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(11):989-1002. ↗
  2. Marso SP, et al. (SUSTAIN-6 Investigators). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(19):1834-1844. ↗
  3. Lincoff AM, et al. (SELECT Trial Investigators). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(24):2221-2232. ↗
  4. Gabery S, et al. Semaglutide lowers body weight in rodents via distributed neural pathways. JCI Insight. 2020;5(6):e133429. ↗
  5. Smits MM, Van Raalte DH. Safety of Semaglutide. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021;12:645563. ↗
  6. Perkovic V, et al. (FLOW Trial Committees and Investigators). Effects of Semaglutide on Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2024;391(2):109-121. ↗
  7. Aronne LJ, et al. (SURMOUNT-5 Investigators). Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2025;392(20):2017-2028. ↗
  8. Sanyal AJ, et al. (ESSENCE Study Group). Phase 3 Trial of Semaglutide in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis. N Engl J Med. 2025;392(21):2089-2099. ↗
  9. Mahapatra MK, Karuppasamy M, Sahoo BM. Therapeutic Potential of Semaglutide, a Newer GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, in Abating Obesity, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Pharm Res. 2022;39(6):1233-1248. ↗
  10. Davies M, et al. (STEP 2 Study Group). Semaglutide 2.4 mg once a week in adults with overweight or obesity, and type 2 diabetes (STEP 2): a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2021;397(10278):971-984. ↗
  11. Avgerinos I, et al. Efficacy, safety and cardiovascular outcomes of once-daily oral semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2020;22(3):335-345. ↗
  12. Pratley RE, et al. Semaglutide versus dulaglutide once weekly in patients with type 2 diabetes (SUSTAIN 7): a randomised, open-label, phase 3b trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018;6(4):275-286. ↗
  13. Frias JP, et al. Efficacy and safety of once-weekly semaglutide 2.0 mg versus 1.0 mg in patients with type 2 diabetes (SUSTAIN FORTE): a double-blind, randomised, phase 3B trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021;9(9):563-574. ↗
  14. Wharton S, et al. Gastrointestinal tolerability of once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg in adults with overweight or obesity, and the relationship between gastrointestinal adverse events and weight loss. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022;24(1):94-105. ↗
  15. Assessment of Thyroid Carcinogenic Risk and Safety Profile of GLP1-RA: A Review. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25(8):4346. ↗
  16. McCrimmon RJ, et al. Impact of Semaglutide on Body Composition in Adults With Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1 substudy). J Endocr Soc. 2021;5(Suppl 1):A16-A17. ↗
  17. Wilding JPH, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022;24(8):1553-1564. ↗
  18. Rubino D, et al. Effect of Continued Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Placebo on Weight Loss Maintenance in Adults With Overweight or Obesity (STEP 4): A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2021;325(14):1414-1425. ↗
  19. Alopecia associated with the use of semaglutide and tirzepatide: A disproportionality analysis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2025. ↗
  20. Telogen Effluvium Associated With Weight Loss: A Single Center Retrospective Study. Ann Dermatol. 2024;36(6):348-356. ↗
  21. Mahapatra MK, Karuppasamy M, Sahoo BM. Semaglutide. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024. ↗
  22. Aroda VR, et al. Current Understanding of Sodium N-(8-[2-Hydroxylbenzoyl] Amino) Caprylate (SNAC) as an Absorption Enhancer: The Oral Semaglutide Experience. Clin Diabetes. 2023;41(3):360-373. ↗
  23. Au Yeung SL, et al. Drug-Drug Interactions Between Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and Oral Medications: A Systematic Review. Drug Saf. 2024;47(4):343-356. ↗