STEP-4 (withdrawal trial)
The pivotal Phase 3 trials and post-approval cardiovascular, kidney, and sleep-apnea outcome studies.
Definition
Semaglutide withdrawal trial that established GLP-1 obesity therapy as chronic — not finite — treatment. After all 803 participants reached the 2.4 mg dose in a 20-week run-in, they were randomized 2:1 to continue semaglutide or switch to placebo for 48 more weeks. Continuers lost another 7.9% body weight; switchers regained 6.9%. Rubino 2021 JAMA, PMID 33755728. Effectively retired the idea of finishing a GLP-1 course.
Definition curated by Weight Loss Rankings — sourced from FDA labels and peer-reviewed PubMed literature, never AI-generated summaries.
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