ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07772960SEMA AUDUpdated Nov 4, 2026

Semaglutide Dose Effects on Metabolic and Stress Hormone, Craving and Alcohol Use Outcomes

A Phase 1 interventional study of Placebo and Semaglutide 1.0 mg in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Obesity (BMI Equal to or >30), sponsored by Yale University. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 68 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-04.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Oct 2026; still recruiting 1 month later.
Updated Nov 4, 2026Now RecruitingSite recruiting status changed+1 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 68 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will examine two doses of 1.0 mg and 2.0 mg of Semaglutide versus placebo in patients with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Obesity (Ob) to assess if these doses improve alcohol craving, stress and alcohol use outcomes.

Read the detailed description

A randomized, double blind placebo controlled 20 week study of two doses of Semaglutide (SEMA) versus placebo in men and women with AUD and obesity (OB:BMI 30-49.9 kg/m2) will be studied to assess alcohol and food craving and stress in a validated laboratory model as well as examine changes in alcohol intake and related alcohol use outcomes during a 20 week clinical treatment and 8 week post-treatment follow-up phase of the study, in order to test mechanisms by which SEMA may exerts significant effects on alcohol use disorder outcomes.

02

Conditions studied

  • Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)
  • Obesity (BMI Equal to or >30)

Keywords

  • Alcohol Use Disorder
  • alcohol craving
  • Semaglutide
  • food craving
  • alcohol intake
03

In context

Alcoholism

1,674 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcoholism; 331 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 90 is close to the median of 88 across 1,428 interventional studies indexed under Alcoholism.

Browse Alcoholism studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,770 studies on the registry; 294 are open to participants now.

Of its 221 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 129 (58%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 68 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male and females ages 18-60 and in 30-49.9 kg/m2;
  • regular weekly alcohol use (at least 3X/week) prior to admission;
  • must meet current criteria for moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) using SCID-I for DSM-V;
  • Good health as verified by screening and physical examination;
  • Able to read English and complete study evaluation;
  • Able to provide informed written and verbal consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Meet current criteria for moderate to severe substance use disorders from abuse of any another psychoactive substance, excluding nicotine;
  • Current use of opiates;
  • Current use of psychiatric medications, including benzodiazepine-based sedatives/anxiolytics and anticonvulsants, non SSRI antidepressants, oral prescription analgesics (other than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), acamprosate, naltrexone, antabuse, baclofen, varenicline;
  • Psychotic or otherwise severely psychiatrically disabled (i.e., suicidal, homicidal, current mania);
  • Endocrine or immune disorders, including diagnosis of diabetes (T2D or T1D) by American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria or a history of HgbA1c >6.5% and on current medications for T2D treatment;
  • Significant underlying medical conditions, including history of pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, medullary thyroid cancer, or MEN syndrome, as well as other cerebral, renal, thyroid or cardiac pathology that would preclude study participation;
  • Current use of any anti-obesity medications;
  • Prior history of bariatric surgery or current intragastric balloon;
  • Current participation in structured meal replacement or weight loss program;
  • Weight loss of >=10% over the preceding 6 months;
  • Women who are pregnant, nursing or refuse use of reliable form of .
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
90 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Placebo saline pen administered weekly for 20 weeks

    Other: Placebo

  • Active comparator
    Semaglutide 1.0 mg

    Semaglutide low dose of 1.0 mg administered weekly over the 20-weeks trial

    Drug: Semaglutide 1.0 mg

  • Active comparator
    Semaglutide 2.0 mg

    Semaglutide high dose 2.0 mg administered weekly over the 20-weeks trial

    Drug: Semaglutide 2.0 mg

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Alcohol use days

    Days of alcohol use over 20 weeks of treatment

    Time frame: 20 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Heavy drinking days

    Days of heavy drinkings (Mne: greater than 5 or more drinks; Women: greater than 4 or more drinks)

    Time frame: 20 weeks

  2. Average drinks per drinking day

    Average number of alcoholic drinks consumed on a drinking day

    Time frame: 20 weeks

  3. Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) to assess Alcohol craving

    The OCDS is a 14-item self-report tool that measures alcohol craving, obsessive thoughts about drinking, and compulsive drinking behaviors. Total scores and subscale scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores reflecting more overall craving in each category and total craving.

    Time frame: 20 weeks

Other outcomes

  1. Food Craving Inventory (FCI) to assess Food craving

    The FCI is a 28-item self-report questionnaire assessing the frequency of cravings for specific foods over the past month using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = always/almost every day). Total scores range from 28 to 140, with higher scores reflecting more frequent overall cravings.

    Time frame: 20 weeks

  2. Mean change Body weight

    Mean changes in body weight (pounds)

    Time frame: 20 weeks

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Harvanek ZM, Milivojevic V, Hart R, Sinha R. Alterations in glucose and insulin resistance following stress and alcohol cues predict alcohol craving in those with AUD and obesity: A preliminary study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2026 May;50(5):e70283. doi: 10.1111/acer.70283. PubMed 42101823 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Investigators will follow NIH-NIAAA data sharing plan and upload de-identified individual data including demographics, treatment and outcomes data to the NIMHDataArchives (NDa) as required by NIAAA.

Supporting information: Statistical analysis plan, Clinical study report

Time frame: Baseline data will be uploaded twice yearly. Clinical trial outcome data will be shared after study completion and breaking the blind and completion of final analysis of the main study outcomes.

Access criteria: Access will be provided following the NIH-NIAAA guidelines available at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AA-19-020.html at the URL below.

Data sharing details ↗ · nda.nih.gov

09

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Oct 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2031, 60 months after the start.

Of 63 non-industry phase 1 interventional studies under Alcoholism, half reached primary completion within 34 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 49. This study's planned 60 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 75 studies reached it within 28 months; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 48.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 13, 2026
First posted
Aug 19, 2026
StartActual
Oct 1, 2026
Primary completionEst.
Oct 31, 2031
CompletionEst.
Oct 31, 2031
Last update
Nov 4, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
Status
Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
changed Nov 4, 2026
Sites
1 site added. Yale Stress Center is now Recruiting
Show site
  • Yale Stress Center · New Haven, United States
Nov 4, 2026
Site contacts
Changed at 1 site. See the sites
Show the site
  • Yale Stress Center · New Haven, United StatesContact added k•••@yale.edu · •••7377
Nov 4, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 4, 2026
    Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
    1 site added. Yale Stress Center is now Recruiting
    Show site
    • Yale Stress Center · New Haven, United States
    Site contacts Changed at 1 site. See the sites
    Show the site
    • Yale Stress Center · New Haven, United StatesContact added k•••@yale.edu · •••7377
    + 2 other changes: verification date and date precision

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07772960
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Aug 19, 2026
Start date
Oct 1, 2026
Primary completion
Oct 31, 2031 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 31, 2031 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 4, 2026

Study contacts

RAJITA SINHA, PHD
Contact
rajita.sinha@yale.edu
2037375805
Rajita Sinha
principal investigator · Yale University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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