The Alzheimer's Association has released a statement on Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide Phase III top-line data release.
The company said it is disappointed that the evoke and evoke+ clinical trials did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in Alzheimer's disease progression.
The studies tested an oral semaglutide pill for the treatment of early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.
"While these results are not what we had hoped for, they will contribute to our understanding of this devastating and fatal disease," said Joanne Pike, DrPH, Alzheimer's Association president and CEO.
"The data from every clinical trial, regardless of outcome, is vital to accelerating our understanding of this disease and helps inform the next generation of clinical trials."
"We remain optimistic about the future of Alzheimer's treatment and prevention, as the scientific landscape continues to diversify and expand."
The company said, "While treatment with semaglutide resulted in improvement of Alzheimer's disease-related biomarkers in both trials, this did not translate into a delay of disease progression."
The evoke and evoke+ trials were large-scale, long-term international clinical trials.
More than 3800 people ages 55-85 diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (referred to as stages 3 and 4 of Alzheimer's disease), were enrolled.
"These results will help us refine our understanding of this class of drugs," said Dr Maria C. Carrillo, Alzheimer's Association Chief Science Officer and medical affairs lead.
"Though this semaglutide pill did not help against Alzheimer's, the field will continue to investigate this class of drugs, as they may act differently."
"The Alzheimer's Association remains a fierce leader for this type of innovative research and we believe it's critical to continue investigating diverse approaches to treatment and prevention."
The Alzheimer's treatment pipeline is still robust and full of hope.
An annual evaluation of the drug development pipeline published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions in early 2025 shows 182 active clinical trials are evaluating 138 novel drugs.
The Alzheimer's Association, through its "Part the Cloud" programme, provides strategic funding to advance promising investigational Alzheimer's therapies into clinical trials.
The treatment targets are varied, which is important given the growing consensus that effective treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's is likely to be a personalised combination of multiple interventions.
For people living with early Alzheimer's, approved treatments are available. The Association said it urges individuals to talk to their doctor about these options.
Individuals can also talk to their doctor about participating in clinical trials or visit the Alzheimer's Association's TrialMatch for more information.
The Association appreciates these top-line results and looks forward to hearing a deeper dive into the data at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) meeting in December.