New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Three Major Trials in November 2026 Issue

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) posted to social media announcing its 5 November 2026 issue, which carries findings from three clinical trials across obesity treatment, cardiac investigation, and blood lipid disorders.

The TRIUMPH-1 trial examined retatrutide — a drug being tested for the treatment of obesity in adults — and reached its phase 3 stage, the final round of human testing before a medicine can be considered for regulatory approval. A separate trial, TARGET-CTCA, looked at the use of CT coronary angiography (a detailed X-ray scan of the heart’s arteries) in patients presenting with acute chest pain. The third paper covers plozasiran, a treatment being investigated for hypertriglyceridaemia — a condition where levels of triglycerides (a type of fat) in the blood are abnormally high, which can raise the risk of serious health problems including pancreatitis.

All three studies appear in the same issue of NEJM, one of the world’s most widely read medical journals. The findings will now be reviewed by clinicians and health bodies worldwide. But publication in a journal does not mean any of these treatments are currently available on the NHS — that process involves separate review by regulators such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and, for NHS funding decisions, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

None of these treatments is currently available as a standard NHS prescription.

Anyone with concerns about their weight, chest pain, or blood fat levels should speak to their GP or call NHS 111 for advice.