CagriSema and Women in 2026: New Data Shows 25% Average Weight Loss Before, During, and After Menopause

CagriSema is a once-weekly injection that combines two medications: cagrilintide, an amylin analog that works on satiety signaling, and semaglutide, the same GLP-1 medication found in Wegovy and Ozempic. It is not yet FDA-approved — more on that below — but it has been one of the most closely watched drugs in the obesity pipeline.

On October 20, Novo Nordisk announced post hoc analyses of its REDEFINE 1 trial at The Menopause Society 2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego. REDEFINE 1 was a 68-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial that enrolled 3,417 adults with obesity or overweight who did not have type 2 diabetes. Roughly two-thirds of the participants were women — which is typical of obesity trials and gave researchers an unusually large group to analyze.

The new analyses looked specifically at how the 2,309 women in the trial responded, and then broke a subset of 1,902 women down by menopausal stage.

Among all women in the trial, CagriSema was associated with an average 25.0% body weight reduction at week 68, compared with 3.0% for placebo. Waist circumference fell by an average of 20.5 cm (about 8 inches) with CagriSema versus 4.7 cm with placebo.

The responder rates are just as striking: 93.3% of women on CagriSema lost at least 10% of their body weight, and 68.7% lost at least 20%. On placebo, those figures were 12.7% and 1.8%.

Broken down by menopausal stage, average weight loss with CagriSema was 26.7% for premenopausal women, 24.8% for perimenopausal women, and 23.1% for postmenopausal women — against placebo responses of roughly 2-3% in each group. In other words, the effect softened only slightly with age and hormonal stage, and postmenopausal women still lost nearly a quarter of their body weight on average.

For context, the full REDEFINE 1 population averaged 22.7% weight loss, so women as a group outperformed the overall trial result — a pattern researchers have also observed with existing GLP-1 medications.

One important caveat: these are post hoc analyses, meaning they were run after the trial ended rather than built into its original design. Menopausal status was derived from age, medical history, and symptoms rather than confirmed with hormone testing, and Novo itself describes the findings as exploratory and hypothesis-generating. They are encouraging — not definitive.

The hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause tend to slow metabolism, redistribute fat toward the abdomen, and make weight loss harder — right at the age when cardiovascular and metabolic risks start climbing. Many women report that approaches that worked in their 30s simply stop working in their 50s.

That is why a dataset showing 23% average weight loss in postmenopausal women matters. It suggests the biology driving midlife weight gain does not blunt the response to this class of medication nearly as much as many patients fear. It also adds to a growing body of research on women and GLP-1 therapy — including recent data suggesting hormone therapy may enhance GLP-1 results in midlife women, a topic we covered earlier this month.

CagriSema's tolerability profile looks broadly similar to existing GLP-1 medications, with gastrointestinal effects leading the list. In REDEFINE 1, 79.6% of CagriSema patients reported GI adverse events versus 39.9% on placebo — including nausea (55% vs. 12.6%), constipation (30.7% vs. 11.6%), and vomiting (26.1% vs. 4.1%). Novo describes most of these as transient and mild to moderate, and 5.9% of CagriSema patients discontinued due to adverse events versus 3.5% on placebo.

If you have taken semaglutide or tirzepatide, this will sound familiar: the first weeks of dose escalation are usually the bumpiest, and side effects tend to settle. Providers commonly manage this with slower titration, dietary adjustments, and anti-nausea medication when needed. As with any GLP-1-based therapy, these medications are not appropriate for everyone — including people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2 — which is why screening with a licensed provider matters.

Novo Nordisk filed its FDA application for CagriSema in December 2025, and a decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 — potentially within the next few months. Until then, CagriSema is not available by prescription, and its safety and efficacy have not been formally established by regulators.

The good news is that the medications available today are already highly effective, and the new data reinforces that women — including postmenopausal women — tend to respond well to this drug class. Semaglutide and tirzepatide, the GLP-1 backbone therapies available now, have produced substantial weight loss in their own phase 3 trials, and tirzepatide in particular remains one of the most effective options on the market. If you are curious how CagriSema stacks up against tirzepatide, see our earlier breakdown of the REDEFINE results.

Waiting for a pipeline drug rarely makes sense when proven options exist today — especially since weight lost now translates directly into lower blood pressure, better blood sugar, and reduced joint strain, whatever medication you may switch to later.

If midlife weight changes have you considering medication, JoeyMed's licensed providers can help you figure out whether a GLP-1-based treatment fits your health profile, your goals, and your stage of life. The process starts with a simple online assessment, followed by a provider review of your medical history, screening for contraindications, and a personalized treatment plan — with medications shipped discreetly to your door and ongoing check-ins to adjust dosing and manage side effects.

Visit JoeyMed Weight Loss to take the first step. Treatment decisions are always made together with a licensed provider, and results vary from person to person — but as this week's data shows, the science of medical weight loss keeps moving in patients' favor.