A new study suggests that Ozempic may help treat type 1 diabetes, offering potential support for people who currently rely mostly on insulin.
The drug, semaglutide, is the active ingredient in popular medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. While semaglutide is approved to treat type 2 diabetes and support weight loss, this study explored how it might benefit patients with type 1 diabetes, who currently rely almost entirely on insulin therapy. Researchers reported the findings in the journal NEJM Evidence on June 23.
Dr. Viral Shah of Indiana University led the study and called the results promising. He noted that insulin has been the primary treatment for type 1 diabetes for over a century. However, many patients continue to face challenges such as weight gain, poor blood sugar control, and insulin resistance, particularly among those who also have obesity. This combination of symptoms is often referred to as “double diabetes.”
A study tested weekly injections in patients with obesity
In the trial, 72 adults with type 1 diabetes and obesity took part. Half of the participants received a weekly injection of semaglutide for 26 weeks. The other half received a placebo. All continued using insulin and were monitored using continuous glucose tracking devices.
Semaglutide in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes and Obesity
semaglutide compared with AID use alone, significantly improved achievement of a composite of time in range of greater than 70%, with time below range of less than 4%, and a 5% body weight reduction.https://t.co/efUrit2IS3 pic.twitter.com/zFsTvjNMCP
— Ahmed Bennis MD 🫀 (@drbennisahmed) June 24, 2025
Patients who received semaglutide showed clear improvements. They maintained healthy blood sugar levels more than 70% of the time and experienced fewer episodes of dangerously low blood sugar. They also lost at least 5% of their body weight. None of the patients in the placebo group achieved all three of these outcomes.
These results are encouraging, said Dr. Ahmad Haidar, a diabetes researcher at McGill University who was not involved in the study. “It’s an important study that adds to the existing evidence toward the safety and efficacy of the use of semaglutide in type 1, but it is not enough.”
More research is needed before the drug can be approved
Still, Haidar cautioned that more data is required before the treatment can be approved for this new use. It’s an important study, but it’s not enough, he told Live Science. “We need more evidence to help these drugs be approved by regulatory agencies.”
Dr. Shah agreed and said future trials with larger patient groups are necessary. He hopes this research will eventually lead to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and inclusion in the American Diabetes Association’s treatment guidelines for type 1 diabetes.
“And if that happens, I think this would be probably the first drug beyond insulin for people with type 1 diabetes to use,” Shah said. “It’s really exciting that it’s moving forward.”
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