Many women gain weight and lose muscle through menopause, and drugmakers have started reporting obesity-drug results by menopause stage. These analyses are usually done after a trial ends, so they suggest patterns rather than prove them.
At the ECO congress in May 2026, Novo Nordisk reported a post hoc analysis of STEP UP in which Wegovy 7.2 mg produced similar weight loss across life stages: 22.6% before menopause, 19.7% during perimenopause, and 19.8% after. In October 2026, Novo presented REDEFINE 1 analyses at The Menopause Society meeting: CagriSema was linked to 25% average weight loss in 2,309 women, and 26.7%, 24.8%, and 23.1% across the three menopause stages, versus 22.7% for the whole trial. Novo called both hypothesis-generating.
Our guide to Wegovy and menopause covers what the data mean for women weighing treatment. See also #cagrisema and #semaglutide.
Mayo Clinic Florida researchers led by Dr. Regina Castaneda presented a retrospective study at The Menopause Society's 2026 annual meeting in San Diego (October 20-24) of women over 45 with a BMI above 27, nearly 2,400 taking semaglutide and nearly 1,500 taking tirzepatide. Among semaglutide users, menopause hormone therapy was associated with significantly greater and sustained weight loss; among tirzepatide users, those on hormone therapy initially lost more, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The release gives no effect sizes, the study is observational and not yet peer reviewed, and Castaneda said it is "too early to draw firm conclusions" and that weight loss is not an indication for hormone therapy.
Novo Nordisk presented post hoc analyses of its Phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial at The Menopause Society's annual meeting on October 20, 2026, Reuters reported: among 2,309 women with obesity or overweight, CagriSema 2.4 mg/2.4 mg was linked to 25% average weight loss at 68 weeks versus 3% on placebo, compared with 22.7% across the full trial of more than 3,400 adults. In 1,902 women grouped by menopause stage, average loss was 26.7% before menopause, 24.8% during perimenopause, and 23.1% after. Novo called the analyses hypothesis-generating; an FDA decision on CagriSema for weight management is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ: ABCL) announced Wednesday August 12, 2026 the pricing of an oversubscribed underwritten public offering of 17,435,897 common shares at $9.75 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,076,926 shares at $9.74999 per pre-funded warrant, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $200 million. Net proceeds of approximately $187 million are targeted to advance clinical development of lead program ABCL635 (an antibody-based candidate for vasomotor symptoms of menopause and related endocrine indications) plus additional immunology and oncology candidates. The offering closed August 14. AbCellera is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering first-in-class antibody-based medicines in endocrinology, women's health, immunology, and oncology using its integrated antibody-discovery platform. Not a peptide company, but the offering is included here because AbCellera's platform overlaps with peptide-discovery approaches in the same discovery-to-clinical translation ecosystem, and the H2 2026 biotech financing window (which has already delivered Parabilis's $670M peptide IPO, Kardigan's $400M+ cardio IPO, and now AbCellera's $200M follow-on) reflects continued institutional appetite for platform-derived biologics.
Eight days ahead of EASL Congress 2026 in Barcelona (May 27-30), Novo Nordisk released new analyses from the Phase 3 ESSENCE program showing semaglutide 2.4 mg holds a favorable hepatic safety profile across MASH subgroups, including the first dedicated Japanese MASH cohort and a women-in-menopause subset. Gastrointestinal events remained the leading adverse-event signal, with small discontinuation rates. MASH affects an estimated 250 million people globally with roughly 9 in 10 cases undiagnosed; the trial data reinforce the FDA's August 2025 MASH-with-fibrosis approval and broaden the prescribing case ahead of the EASL plenaries.
A second post-hoc analysis of STEP UP presented Tuesday found Wegovy 7.2 mg delivered consistent weight loss across reproductive life stages: 22.6% premenopausal, 19.7% perimenopausal, 19.8% postmenopausal, with 41.4% of premenopausal women hitting ≥25% loss. Waist-circumference reductions: 17.5%, 15.6%, 15.3% respectively. Separately, a real-world analysis of 34,000+ women showed that those taking Wegovy had a 42-45% lower migraine risk and a 25% lower depression risk starting six months in versus those on menopausal hormone therapy alone. The real-world data lands as observational signals that warrant prospective study — not as proof of causation — but reinforces the cardiovascular and quality-of-life narrative for the women's-health subgroup.