Semaglutide Therapy for Alcohol Reduction (STAR)

May 9, 2026 updated by: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Semaglutide Therapy for Alcohol Reduction (STAR): A Proof-of-Concept Phase II Clinical Trial

Background:

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a problematic pattern of alcohol use accompanied by clinically significant medical consequences. Medications can help most people reduce their drinking, but the number is limited, and additional treatment options are needed.

Objective:

To test if a medication named Semaglutide may reduce alcohol drinking in people with AUD.

Who can participate?

All Adults aged 18 or older with AUD might be eligible to participate in the study.

What will happen during the study?

Participants will visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in Baltimore once a week for about 20 weeks (5 months). Each visit will last between 2 and 6 hours depending on the tasks scheduled for that visit.

Participants will be assigned by chance (like flipping a coin) to receive either Semaglutide or placebo. A placebo looks just like a real drug but contains no medicine.

The study medication is given as a shot under the skin each week.

Participants will undergo different tests throughout the study:

They will give blood, urine, and saliva samples.

They will engage in self-paced behavioral therapy on a computer.

They will answer questions about their mood, diet, alcohol drinking and craving, tobacco use, etc.

They will taste several sweet liquids and tell their preferences.

They will sit in a bar-like room and be exposed to cues that might make them feel the urge to eat food or drink alcohol.

They will wear a virtual reality headset that creates a cafeteria setting. They will walk the virtual cafeteria and choose food and drinks from a buffet.

They will have a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan to take pictures of their brain. During the scans, participants will be shown pictures of alcohol-containing drinks, food, and other items.They will perform tasks on a computer screen.

Participants will have a follow-up visit about 7 weeks after their last shot.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Study Description:

This study will test the safety/tolerability and early efficacy of subcutaneous (s.c.) semaglutide at the dose of 2.4 mg/week or maximum tolerated dose (MTD) as a potential new treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Objectives:

We propose to test early efficacy and safety/tolerability of semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue, as a novel pharmacotherapy to reduce alcohol use and related measures. This will be a Phase 2a, pilot, proof-of-concept, outpatient study combined with experimental medicine human laboratory procedures.

Endpoints:

The primary aims will be to determine whether semaglutide reduces alcohol drinking from baseline to endpoint, as measured by total number of standard alcohol-containing drinks consumed per week (drinks per week, DPW). Semaglutide is safe and tolerable in individuals with AUD, as measured by the frequency/severity of adverse events and the proportion of participants who reach maximum dose, and B) semaglutide reduces alcohol drinking from baseline to endpoint, as measured by total number of standard alcohol-containing drinks consumed per week (drinks per week, DPW).

The following secondary aims will also be examined:

  • Whether semaglutide is safe and tolerable, as assessed by the number and severity of adverse events and the proportion of participants who reach the target dose.
  • Whether semaglutide reduces other self-reported alcohol-related outcomes (e.g., heavy drinking days, drinks per drinking days, World Health Organization (WHO) drinking levels)
  • Whether semaglutide reduces blood Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels as a biomarker of alcohol use
  • Whether semaglutide reduces alcohol and/or food cue-elicited craving assessed in a bar-like laboratory
  • Whether semaglutide reduces and/or changes food choices in a virtual reality buffet-like laboratory

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

This study will enroll adult individuals with a current diagnosis of AUD. Participants will be recruited without any preference to sex, race, religion, or other social variables, but sociodemographic data will be collected for sample characterization and potential use in the analyses. Since self-reported psychological measures that have been validated in English constitute major part of the study assessments, participants need to be able to speak, read, write, and understand English to be in the study.

The information needed to assess eligibility will be collected under an IRB-approved NIDA IRP

screening protocol, led by the Office of the Clinical Director (OCD) at the NIDA IRP to assess

potential research participants' eligibility for entering clinical protocols. Additional details can be found in the NIDA screening protocol documents. Furthermore, NIH medical records (from other NIH clinical protocols) and outside medical records may also be used, if available, to determine whether participants fulfill the eligibility criteria.

To be eligible for this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

  • At least 18 years old
  • Alcohol Use Disorder (minimum 2 symptoms on a validated diagnostic tool, e.g., the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID))
  • Self-reported drinking, according to alcohol Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB), of > 7 drinks per week for females or > 14 drinks per week for males during the 28-day period prior to screening plus at least four days with > 3 drinks for females or > 4 drinks for males during the 28-day period prior to screening
  • Most recent Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol - revised (CIWA-Ar) score < 10
  • Able to speak, read, write, and understand English as demonstrated by ability to understand and sign the NIDA screening protocol consent
  • Normal or corrected-to-normal (e.g., wearing glasses or contacts) vision and normal or corrected-to-normal (e.g., with the use of a hearing aid) hearing

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from enrolling in this study:

  • BMI < 23 kg/m^2 or BMI >= 50 kg/m^2
  • Evidence of malnutrition as determined by the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002)
  • Most recent blood tests: creatinine >= 2 mg/dL, eGFR <45 mL/min/1.73 m^2, triglycerides > 500 mg/dl, ALP > 4x the upper limit of normal, clinically abnormal lipase levels per study clinician
  • Present diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or blood hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) >= 6.5 %
  • Current (within the past 30 days) use of the following medications with glucose lowering properties: GLP-1 analogues, sulfonylurea, insulin, metformin, thiazolidinediones, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-IV) inhibitors, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors
  • Current or prior use of semaglutide or tirzepatide
  • Current (within the past 30 days) use of weight-lowering medications
  • Current (within the past 30 days) use of FDA-approved pharmacotherapy for AUD (oral or intramuscular naltrexone, acamprosate, disulfiram)
  • Current (within the past 30 days) use of medications with known interaction with semaglutide
  • Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2)
  • Known ongoing history of alcohol ketoacidosis, gastroparesis, pancreatitis (either acute or chronic), pancreatic carcinoma, gallbladder disease, jaundice, Mallory-Weiss syndrome (esophageal tears secondary to vomiting), esophageal varices, cirrhosis
  • Known history of gastric bypass surgery
  • Known history of prior hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide, any of the product components, or any other GLP-1 analogue
  • Known history of suicidal attempts (within the past 24 months) or active suicidal ideation
  • Known history of clinically significant vestibular disorders or motion sickness
  • Known history of clinically significant noise-induced hearing loss or tinnitus
  • Contraindication(s) for brain fMRI
  • Unstable cardiovascular conditions (e.g., arrhythmias, clinically significant ECG abnormalities)
  • Physical and/or mental health conditions that are clinically unstable, as determined by the study clinicians, including (but not limited to) major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder unstable during the past three months or other psychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) unstable during the past twelve months prior to screening.
  • Female who is pregnant, breast-feeding, or intends to become pregnant or is of child-bearing potential and not using a highly effective contraceptive method
  • Any other reason or clinical condition that the investigators judge may interfere with study participation and/or be unsafe for a participant

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Weekly subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of placebo.
Behavioral: Take Control
A computer-delivered behavioral therapy derived from the NIAAA s self-help approach, Rethinking Drinking, developed for use in pharmacotherapy trials.
Experimental: Semaglutide
Weekly subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of semaglutide up to 2.4 mg/week or maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Consistent with current recommendations, the dose will be titrated at minimum every four weeks to maximize tolerability and minimize adverse events.
Behavioral: Take Control
A computer-delivered behavioral therapy derived from the NIAAA s self-help approach, Rethinking Drinking, developed for use in pharmacotherapy trials.
Drug: Semaglutide
Weekly subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of semaglutide (or placebo) up to 2.4 mg/week or maximum tolerated dose (MTD).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine whether semaglutide, compared to placebo, reduces alcohol drinking.
Time Frame: Difference in number of standard alcohol-containing drinks consumed / week (Drinks Per Week, DPW) from baseline to end of the study.
Recording the difference of alcohol consumption between baseline and end of the study is crucial to understand whether drinking amount/patterns change throughout the study, potentially due to the use of semaglutide.
Difference in number of standard alcohol-containing drinks consumed / week (Drinks Per Week, DPW) from baseline to end of the study.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine whether semaglutide, compared to placebo, reduces other self-reported alcohol-related outcomes.
Time Frame: Difference in other alcohol-related outcomes (e.g., heavy drinking days, drinks per drinking days, WHO drinking levels) from baseline to end of the study.
Recording the difference of alcohol consumption between baseline and end of the study is crucial to understand whether drinking amount/patterns change throughout the study, potentially due to the use of semaglutide.
Difference in other alcohol-related outcomes (e.g., heavy drinking days, drinks per drinking days, WHO drinking levels) from baseline to end of the study.
Determine whether semaglutide reduces blood Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) levels as a biomarker of alcohol use.
Time Frame: Difference in blood PEth levels from baseline to end of the study.
Recording the difference of blood PEth levels between baseline and end of the study will provide an objective biomarker of change in alcohol use throughout the study, potentially due to the use of semaglutide.
Difference in blood PEth levels from baseline to end of the study.
Determine whether semaglutide reduces alcohol/food cue-elicited craving assessed in a bar-like laboratory.
Time Frame: Difference in alcohol/food craving scores post exposure between the two groups.
Differences in craving scores will demonstrate whether the drug changes cue-reactivity in a population with AUD.
Difference in alcohol/food craving scores post exposure between the two groups.
Determine whether semaglutide reduces and/or changes food choices in a virtual reality buffet-like laboratory.
Time Frame: Difference in food selection in the virtual buffet between the two groups.
Differences in food choices selected will demonstrate whether the drug changes food-seeking behaviors in a population with AUD.
Difference in food selection in the virtual buffet between the two groups.
Determine whether semaglutide reduces brain activity in resting-state and/or task-based fMRI scans.
Time Frame: Difference in relevant fMRI measures between the two groups.
Differences in fMRI outcomes will demonstrate whether the drug changes brain activity at rest and/or in response to tasks.
Difference in relevant fMRI measures between the two groups.
Determine the safety and tolerability of semaglutide in individuals with AUD.
Time Frame: Number and severity of adverse events; number of people who reach the target dose.
High numbers of serious adverse events negatively reflect a drug s safety and tolerability in a specific patient population.
Number and severity of adverse events; number of people who reach the target dose.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 17, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 28, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

August 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 9, 2026

Last Verified

May 8, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10001603
  • 001603-DA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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