Photo by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash
Photo by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash

New weight loss drug targets both blood sugar and appetite in early trials

Embargoed until: Publicly released:
Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Randomised controlled trial: Subjects are randomly assigned to a test group, which receives the treatment, or a control group, which commonly receives a placebo. In 'blind' trials, participants do not know which group they are in; in ‘double blind’ trials, the experimenters do not know either. Blinding trials helps removes bias.

People: This is a study based on research using people.

A new drug - called amycretin - has shown it can help reduce body weight in two early-phase clinical trials, according to a study funded by the manufacturer Novo Nordisk. The drug, which targets both GLP-1 and amylin receptors to help control blood sugar and appetite, was reported to reduce body weight by up to 24.3% when injected over 36 weeks, and 13.1% when taken orally over 12 weeks. It wasn't all good news, though, because the trials found that amycretin did cause a moderate-to-high frequency of gastrointestinal side-effects like nausea and vomiting, as well as a lack of appetite. The authors suggest that the drug is a promising treatment for overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, but larger studies will be needed to confirm the findings.

Journal/conference: The Lancet

Research: Link to Paper 1 | Paper 2

Organisation/s: Novo Nordisk, Denmark

Funder: Novo Nordisk A/S.

Media release

From: The Lancet

The Lancet: Amycretin shows promise as a new weight management therapy, early phase clinical trials confirm

Amycretin, a novel weight management medication, showed promise in two new, early-phase clinical trials published in The Lancet. Amycretin is designed to target two specific receptors in the body — the GLP-1 receptor and the amylin receptor – to help control blood sugar and appetite. Because this medicine can activate both receptors at the same time, researchers say it has the potential to better manage conditions such as overweight and obesity compared to medicines that target just one receptor.

A phase 1b/2a trial tested the safety and tolerability of once-weekly subcutaneous (under the skin and above the muscle) injections of amycretin in 125 adults with overweight or obesity. Participants who received the highest doses (up to 60 mgs) reported body weight reductions of up to 24.3% after 36 weeks of treatment. A high frequency of gastrointestinal adverse effects (including nausea and vomiting) were reported although these were mostly mild to moderate and typically resolved by the end of treatment. The medication also showed signs of improving blood sugar levels, but further trials will be needed to confirm the role of amycretin in this aspect of diabetes management.

The second phase 1 trial investigated oral amycretin taken daily over 12 weeks in 144 participants. This first-in-human trial confirmed amycretin’s safety and tolerability, with mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects, including loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Participants taking the highest dose (100 mgs per day), of oral amycretin lost an average of 13.1% of their body weight after 12 weeks, suggesting oral amycretin could be a promising weight management medication.

Together, these studies suggest amycretin – both as a once-weekly injection and as a daily oral medication – could be a promising approach for treating overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, though larger studies will be needed to confirm these findings.

In a linked Comment to the two articles, Professor Tricia Tan and Dr Bernard Khoo (who were not involved in the studies), highlight the need to look beyond weight loss in obesity management to understand if treatments reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other conditions linked to obesity.

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