Incretin drugs have been so successful in clinical testing they’re akin to a pharmaceutical Swiss Army knife. Already, medicines from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly approved to treat obesity and diabetes have proven beneficial for heart failure, sleep apnea and kidney disease.

A trial expected to produce results sometime this year could determine whether incretins might even play a role treating Alzheimer’s disease.

Known as Evoke, the study has been testing an oral version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy, in more than 1,800 people with early Alzheimer’s over two years. Novo aims to show semaglutide can help slow the cognitive decline associated with the condition.

A company spokesperson told BioPharma Dive results should be available sometime in 2025. Analysts from the investment bank Jefferies have estimated the findings could disclosed as early as the first half, although a federal database lists the trial’s primary completion as September.

If results are positive, semaglutide could force researchers to consider how targeting gut hormones affect the brain and, possibly, change Alzheimer’s care.

The only treatments shown in testing to alter Alzheimer’s course, Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, have only modest effects on cognition. They have so far been used sparingly because of side effects that include brain swelling.

As a daily pill patients could take at home, oral semaglutide would be more convenient than Leqembi and Kisunla, which require periodic trips to healthcare facilities for lengthy infusions. — Jonathan Gardner

Link to trial