The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is reduced by more than half with weekly injections of the new obesity drug semaglutide, according to new research presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, Sweden, Medical Xpress writes.  Semaglutide was recently approved in the U.S. as an obesity drug and pre-approved for the treatment of obesity in England. The drug's efficacy is based on clinical trial results showing that it reduces weight by more than 15% on average when used in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle program. Obesity is known to increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by at least six times, and scientists were interested in whether semaglutide could reduce that risk. To find out more, they conducted a new analysis of data from two trials of semaglutide. In one trial, participants (1,961 people) who were overweight or obese received an injection of 2.4 mg of semaglutide or placebo weekly for 68 weeks. Another trial involved 803 overweight or obese people. They all received weekly injections of 2.4 mg of semaglutide for 20 weeks. Then they either continued taking semaglutide or switched to placebo for the next 48 weeks. Participants in both trials received diet and exercise recommendations. Participants in the first trial who received semaglutide had a 61% reduction in their 10-year risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Participants in the second trial had the greatest reduction in risk scores in the first 20 weeks (from 20.6% at week 0 to 11.4% at week 20). Those who continued to take semaglutide had an even greater reduction in risk, to 7.7%, but in those who were switched to placebo, it rose to 15.4%. This indicates that continued treatment with semaglutide is necessary to maintain a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the researchers concluded.