CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Researchers at Northwestern University found a drug marketed for Type 2 diabetes is effective in treating people who struggle with obesity.

Researchers are calling the drug Semaglutide a game-changer. The clinical trial published by the New England Journal of Medicine details how researchers tested the medication by Novo Nordisk at a higher dose for more than a year. Nearly 2,000 adults with obesity injected themselves weekly or received a placebo.

Those who took the drug lost 15 percent of their body weight while a third lost more than 20 percent of their starting weight, which is equivalent to 45 lbs.

Dr. Robert Kushner, an obesity researcher at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said it is the first time a drug has achieved results similar to what a patient would lose years after bariatric surgery.

“I don’t use the word game-changer lightly. I’ve been involved in this space for 40 years. This is the first time that we are seeing a medication to help people who are struggling with weight that is one and a half to two times more effective than the drugs that we currently have on the market. We were incredibly excited when we saw the results come out,” Kushner said.

Patients who took the drug also saw other medical conditions like diabetes, joint pain, reflux disease, and hypertension improve.

Anti-obesity medications are meant to be taken long term, but scientists are now studying how patients do off the drug.

The drugmaker Novo Nordisk submitted it for rapid review to the Food and Drug Administration in December. Now, insurers need to approve it but right now many companies exclude drugs that treat obesity.