ObesityWeek 2026 runs from 14 to 17 November in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington. The meeting is The Obesity Society’s 44th annual gathering. Novo Nordisk arrives with 26 abstracts, including the first results from REDEFINE 9, its lower-dose CagriSema trial. It will also show real-world data on the Wegovy pill. Full results from STEP Young are due too. It is a Phase 3 trial of semaglutide in children aged six to under 12. Smaller developers bring oral and combination challengers. Together, these sessions are among the most likely to shape the obesity market going into 2027.
When and where is ObesityWeek 2026?
ObesityWeek 2026 takes place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on Waterfront Street, National Harbor. The Obesity Society hosts the meeting. Its scientific tracks include metabolism, neuroscience, clinical studies and population health. Most Novo Nordisk posters sit on Sunday 15 November, and STEP Young is an oral presentation on Monday 16 November.
Timing matters for anyone tracking results. The Obesity Society’s embargo policy holds accepted abstracts until 12:00 pm ET on Saturday 14 November, unless otherwise specified. Before then, sponsors may say a study was accepted but may not reveal its findings. This preview therefore describes what will be presented, not what the data will show.
What will Novo Nordisk present at ObesityWeek 2026?
Novo Nordisk announced its programme on 29 October. The 26 abstracts cover investigational CagriSema, real-world experience with oral and injectable Wegovy, and investigational semaglutide in younger children. The company is also hosting an evening symposium on Sunday 15 November.
Martin Holst Lange, Novo’s chief scientific officer, was quoted in the announcement. He said people living with obesity “can have different experiences and treatment needs at different stages of life.” He added that studying treatments across settings, formulations, outcomes and dosing regimens can strengthen understanding of the disease.
CagriSema: can lower doses hold the weight loss?
CagriSema combines cagrilintide, a long-acting amylin analogue, with the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide. It is investigational and is not approved in the United States or anywhere else. The headline Novo abstract is REDEFINE 9, which tested two lower once-weekly doses: 1.0 mg/1.0 mg and 1.7 mg/1.7 mg. The poster is scheduled for Sunday 15 November, from 2:30 to 3:30 pm ET.
The UK Health Research Authority summary describes a placebo-controlled study in adults with overweight or obesity. Treatment lasts 68 weeks, and screening plus follow-up bring total participation to 77 weeks. Six NHS hospitals took part. The trial is registered as NCT06388187.
Why test lower doses? Tolerability, particularly gastrointestinal side effects, is a recurring theme across the incretin class. A lower dose that keeps meaningful weight loss could suit patients who struggle at higher strengths. It could also offer a step-down option for maintenance. Whether REDEFINE 9 achieves that balance is the question the poster should answer.
REDEFINE 1 post-hoc analyses
Novo is also presenting post-hoc analyses from the pivotal REDEFINE 1 trial. Titles cover outcomes by baseline BMI and obesity-related complications, physical and psychosocial function, and early response trajectories. A separate abstract models the predicted impact of CagriSema on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in the US population. Post-hoc and modelling work cannot establish new efficacy claims. It can, however, suggest which patients respond earliest.
The Wegovy pill in the real world
The Wegovy pill is once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg. Novo announced its US approval on 22 December 2025. In the UK, the MHRA published its approval statement for semaglutide tablets for weight management on 11 June 2026.
Several ObesityWeek 2026 posters test how the pill performs outside trials. The OCTANE analyses follow adults starting oral semaglutide through the Ro telehealth platform. They report weight, food noise and patient-reported outcomes at three months. The SWEEP study examines people starting the Wegovy pill within Novo’s digital patient support programme. Meanwhile, the OPTIC analyses compare medication preferences in adults aged 65 and over with those of younger adults.
Real-world data can show things that randomised trials cannot. Examples include who starts treatment, how quickly people stop, and how telehealth prescribing changes the patient mix. However, three months is a short window, and these cohorts are not randomised. Novo has also listed a cost-of-control comparison of oral semaglutide with orforglipron, which Eli Lilly markets as Foundayo. Another poster, STEP ADAPT Real, tracks real-world semaglutide use at three dose levels in the US and UK.
Semaglutide in children: STEP Young
STEP Young is the trial most likely to draw clinical attention. It is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study in 165 children aged six to under 12 with obesity. All children followed a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Semaglutide was given up to a maximum of 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg, depending on starting weight.
Novo released headline results on 7 September 2026. The trial met its primary endpoint, the percentage change in BMI at week 68. At that point, 40.4% of children on semaglutide no longer met the obesity classification, against none on placebo. That figure uses the trial product estimand, which assumes every child adhered to treatment. More than 85% of participants had class II or III obesity at baseline.
Novo said safety and tolerability were consistent with earlier paediatric and adult trials. It identified no safety concerns for growth or pubertal development. Ania Jastreboff, director of the Yale Obesity Research Center, commented on the headline data in Novo’s announcement. She highlighted how severe obesity was at baseline.
The full presentation on Monday 16 November comes with a simultaneous publication. It should add the absolute BMI change, adherence-independent estimates, adverse event rates and growth data. Semaglutide injection is not approved in the US for children under 12. Earlier evidence in older children is reviewed in a separate analysis of GLP-1s in adolescents.
Which challengers are presenting at ObesityWeek 2026?
Structure Therapeutics will present two posters on aleniglipron, an investigational once-daily oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. Both are scheduled for 15 November, from 2:30 to 3:30 pm ET. One covers the ACCESS open-label extension, and the other covers dose-ranging across the ACCESS trials. The announcement did not include new results.
Onconic Therapeutics, the drug development subsidiary of Jeil Pharmaceutical, has a late-breaking oral presentation. According to Korean trade reports, its title describes OCN-501 preserving skeletal muscle during semaglutide-induced weight loss. The company has not disclosed the drug’s target. It positions the investigational candidate as a partner for GLP-1 therapy rather than a competitor.
Searches on 31 October found no ObesityWeek 2026 presentation announcements from Eli Lilly, Amgen, Zealand Pharma or Viking Therapeutics. That may change before the meeting. Data on retatrutide, MariTide, petrelintide or VK2735 would give direct context for the Novo readouts.
What to watch for after ObesityWeek 2026
Three questions should frame the readouts. First, can CagriSema at lower doses narrow the tolerability gap without giving up too much weight loss? Second, are patients on oral semaglutide staying on treatment once it is prescribed outside a trial? Third, how will regulators weigh Phase 3 efficacy and growth data in children under 12? Novo has not announced a filing based on STEP Young. The results will be added to the Obesity Drug News tracker once they are public.
