The diabetes drug candidate successfully completed Phase 2 development in 2010.
Novo Nordisk executive vice president and chief science officer Mads Thomsen said semaglutide represents to further improve type 2 diabetes therapy within the GLP-1 class.
"The clinical data for semaglutide, in terms of glucose control, weight loss and a low level of hypoglycaemic events after weekly dosing, hold great promise for a differentiated profile and improvement to the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes," Thomsen added.
The company plans to initiate the first Phase 3 study in the SUSTAIN program, which is expected to include more than 8,000 patients, in the first half of 2013.