ECO 2026 Closes Friday May 15 with Maintenance Pivot + EASO First-Line Framework as Central Narratives
The 33rd European Congress on Obesity closes in Istanbul on Friday May 15 after four days that reframed the obesity-pharmacology conversation around two themes. First, maintenance: the SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN Lancet publication, ATTAIN-MAINTAIN Nature Medicine publication, and Wegovy STEP UP early-responder analyses gave prescribers Phase 3 evidence for dose tapering and switching strategies — moving past the 'how much weight will I lose' question to 'how do I stay there'. Second, guideline alignment: the EASO 2026 Nature Medicine framework formally privileged semaglutide and tirzepatide as first-line therapy across most obesity complications, with complication-specific differentiation (tirzepatide for OSA/MASH; semaglutide for OA/CVD/MASH-fibrosis). Caliway CBL-514 + GLP-1R combination preclinical data and Ascletis next-generation amylin and dual-incretin candidates rounded out the four-day program.