MW Can GLP-1s curb alcohol use? A new study says the drugs can reduce heavy drinking.
By Jaimy Lee
A 'gold standard' trial found that semaglutide helped reduce drinking in people with obesity who sought out treatment for alcohol-use disorder
A new study found that taking Novo Nordisk's semaglutide, which is marketed under the names Ozempic and Wegovy, helped reduce heavy drinking in people with alcohol-use disorder.
A GLP-1 medication helped people with obesity who were undergoing treatment for alcohol-use disorder drink less, according to new research.
The study, which was published Friday in The Lancet, evaluated a once-weekly shot of semaglutide, the Novo Nordisk drug marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy, for about six months. It found that taking the drug was associated with a reduction in "heavy drinking days," which is defined as five or more daily drinks for men and four or more daily drinks for women, compared with subjects who received a saline placebo, in the 88 people in Denmark who completed the study.
Some participants had little or or no response to the medication, an issue similar to one that has occurred for some people trying to lose weight by taking GLP-1s. The drug also had no effect on nicotine dependence or daily cigarette consumption.
The randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial backs up similar findings from other other small, preliminary and retrospective studies. A recent analysis of veterans' medical records in the U.S. identified that GLP-1s can reduce the risk of substance-use disorders and cut the risk of adverse outcomes for people who are already addicted to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, nicotine and opioids.
Eli Lilly is already running a Phase 3 trial of an experimental GLP-1/GIP drug called brenipatide for alcohol-use disorder.
"What we are looking at is actually a lot of other effects that GLP-1s have that are positive," Michael Czapar, Lilly's head of investor relations, said in March at an investor conference. "Outside of just obesity and some of the cardiometabolic diseases, we're looking in immunology, neuroscience, things like alcohol-use disorder, tobacco cessation. We're looking at an asthma study. So there's really a wide aperture of different conditions that we're looking to treat."
People taking the drugs who don't have alcohol-use disorder have also found they are less interested in an evening glass of wine. There is widespread acknowledgement that GLP-1 medications like Wegovy or Eli Lilly's $(LLY)$ Zepbound can help curb the appetite for alcohol as well as food.
The Lancet study was partially funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk, although the drugmaker wasn't involved in the design or implementation of the study.
Novo's U.S.-listed shares (NVO) (DK:NOVO.B) were up 2.4% at market open on Friday, rounding out a solid week for its stock, which benefited from mixed signals about the launch of Lilly's GLP-1 pill, strong sales of Lilly's GLP-1 medicines and a pending proposal by the Food and Drug Administration to no longer allow compounding pharmacies to make semaglutide or liraglutide, Novo Nordisk's older GLP-1 drug.
-Jaimy Lee
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May 01, 2026 09:57 ET (13:57 GMT)
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