Patients with alcohol use disorder who receive semaglutide with CBT drink less and have fewer drinking days than with the therapy alone, research suggests.

A phase II study published in The Lancet this month showed that patients given semaglutide had a 13.7 percentage-point greater reduction in heavy-drinking days than those given placebo injections.

The semaglutide group also experienced a 10 percentage-point greater increase in alcohol-free days, according to the study, which was funded by Novo Nordisk’s charity foundation and the Danish Government.

Heavy drinking days were defined as more than 60g of alcohol for men or 48g for women — about six and five standard drinks respectively.