# Semaglutide References: The Trials and Studies Cited

> The full citation list behind this semaglutide digest — STEP 1, SUSTAIN-6, SELECT, FLOW, SURMOUNT-5, PIONEER, OASIS and the mechanism studies — with DOIs and PubMed links.

## How to read these references

Every quantitative claim on this site maps to one of the numbered sources below — the landmark semaglutide trials plus the mechanism and pharmacology studies behind them. Each entry carries a DOI or a PubMed link so you can read the primary source yourself. This is the published record this digest is built from; it is editorial commentary on that record, not medical advice.

## Primary trials and studies

The sources span the STEP weight program, the SUSTAIN and PIONEER diabetes programs, the SELECT and FLOW outcome trials, the SURMOUNT-5 head-to-head, the OASIS oral-weight program, and the preclinical mechanism work that explains how semaglutide acts on the brain, pancreas, and gut. Full citations are listed in the reference index below.

## References

[1] Wilding JPH, et al. (STEP 1 Study Group). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(11):989-1002. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33567185/
[2] Marso SP, et al. (SUSTAIN-6 Investigators). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(19):1834-1844. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27633186/
[3] Lincoff AM, et al. (SELECT Trial Investigators). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(24):2221-2232. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37952131/
[4] Gabery S, et al. Semaglutide lowers body weight in rodents via distributed neural pathways. JCI Insight. 2020;5(6):e133429. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32213703/
[5] Smits MM, Van Raalte DH. Safety of Semaglutide. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021;12:645563. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34305810/
[6] Perkovic V, et al. (FLOW Trial Committees and Investigators). Effects of Semaglutide on Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2024;391(2):109-121. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38785209/
[7] Aronne LJ, et al. (SURMOUNT-5 Investigators). Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2025;392(18):1772-1782. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40353578/
[8] Aroda VR, et al. Current Understanding of Sodium N-(8-[2-Hydroxylbenzoyl] Amino) Caprylate (SNAC) as an Absorption Enhancer: The Oral Semaglutide Experience. Clin Diabetes. 2023;41(3):361-372. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38230324/
[9] Knop FK, et al. Oral semaglutide 50 mg taken once per day in adults with overweight or obesity (OASIS 1): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10403):705-719. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37385278/
[10] Aroda VR, et al. Efficacy and safety of once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg and 50 mg compared with 14 mg in adults with type 2 diabetes (PIONEER PLUS): a multicentre, randomised, phase 3b trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10403):693-704. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01127-3
[11] Aroda VR, et al. PIONEER 1: Randomized Clinical Trial of the Efficacy and Safety of Oral Semaglutide Monotherapy in Comparison With Placebo in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2019;42(9):1724-1732. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31186300/
[12] Chuong V, et al. The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue semaglutide reduces alcohol drinking and modulates central GABA neurotransmission. JCI Insight. 2023;8(12):e170671. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37192005/
[13] Singh I, et al. Time and metabolic state-dependent effects of GLP-1R agonists on NPY/AgRP and POMC neuronal activity in vivo. Mol Metab. 2021;54:101352. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34626854/
[14] Secher A, et al. The arcuate nucleus mediates GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide-dependent weight loss. J Clin Invest. 2014;124(10):4473-4488. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25202980/
[15] Mann JFE, et al. Cardiovascular outcomes with semaglutide by severity of chronic kidney disease. Eur Heart J. 2024;45(40):4203-4212. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae613

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A bright, plain-English digest of the semaglutide record that reads the daily tablet and the once-weekly shot side by side — every trial number cited and the honest downsides kept in plain sight; no clinic behind the name, no prescription filled, and nothing here dosed or sold.