Short answer first, then the reasoning. Albumin binding above 99% is the whole reason weekly dosing works, and it is also why the trough matters more than the peak. People who dose late are not losing a peak, they are letting the trough fall, and the appetite effect tracks the trough.
Six months in at 2.4mg. The first four months were close to the trial curve and the last two have been flat, which is roughly what the STEP 1 figure predicts if you read the tail rather than the headline.
The question I want answered is what the dose-response curve actually looks like above 1.7mg, because the trial means hide how few people account for the extra loss.
If the honest answer is that nobody knows, that is a useful answer and I would rather have it.
InsuranceTom said:Albumin binding above 99% is the whole reason weekly dosing works, and it is also why the trough matters more than the peak.
No disagreement with InsuranceTom. One condition attached. The dose-response is real but shallow at the top. Across STEP 1 and STEP 4 the gap between 1.7mg and 2.4mg is a couple of percentage points of body weight on average, and the average is carrying a wide spread — plenty of people at 1.7mg sit above the 2.4mg mean. If a dose is working and tolerable, "working" is the relevant variable, not "maximal".
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View ResultsDoseLogDan said:The first four months were close to the trial curve and the last two have been flat, which is roughly what the STEP 1 figure predicts if you read the…
Agreed, though "tolerable" needs defining. A dose you tolerate by eating almost nothing is not tolerated, it is being paid for somewhere else — usually in lean mass, sometimes in adherence three months later.
Clinical perspective, offered as context rather than as advice.
DoseLogDan said:...but the FDA says semaglutide...
Interesting point. I want to add some regulatory nuance: the FDA labeling reflects the specific clinical trial data submitted for approval. Real-world clinical practice often extends beyond the FDA label based on emerging evidence and clinical judgment.
Example: semaglutide was first approved for diabetes (Ozempic), then obesity (Wegovy). The molecule didn't change — our understanding of its applications expanded. Similarly, semaglutide may evolve as more data accumulates.