Amycretin, an oral weight loss pill developed by the makers of Wegovy, led to a 13.1% weight loss over three months in early trial results.
Novo Nordisk said its phase 1 trial of a daily dose of amycretin produced an apparent faster weight loss than semaglutide injections and could prove to be a ‘convenient’ alternative.
Delegates at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference heard that the first study of the drug – which targets both GLP-1 and another peptide hormone called amylin – showed a 10.4% weight loss with a lower dose and 13.1% weight loss with a higher dose over a 12-week period compared with placebo with a weight loss of 1.1%
The study done in adults with overweight or obesity but without diabetes also showed no plateauing of weight loss over the 12 weeks, suggesting further weight reductions were possible with longer use.
Adverse events were mild to moderate and included nausea and vomiting and decreased appetite, the conference heard, but stepwise dose escalation led to acceptable safety and tolerability.
The researchers concluded: ‘A single molecule that targets both amylin and GLP-1 biology in a tablet form could offer a more convenient approach to achieving better outcomes for individuals with overweight or obesity.
‘However, larger and longer studies are needed to fully assess the drug’s safety profile and potential.’
Despite NICE approval for semaglutide and tirzepatide for the treatment of overweight and obesity, access has been an issue with significant global supply shortages.
Professor Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: ‘The more medicines coming forward to treat obesity, the better as this gives more chance to find safe and efficacious medicines, especially tablets that could be more easily available (and cheaper) for the many millions around the world struggling with obesity and its complications.
‘This early phase research on a new oral combination is exciting given the speed of weight loss seen. However, far larger scale trials will be needed to test such medicines in due course, including its effect on disease outcomes.’
Dr Nerys Astbury, associate professor of diet and obesity at the University of Oxford, said the results indicated the drug holds some promise as a treatment for obesity but was also associated with some side effects.
‘The comparable effects of this drug and associated health outcomes compared with the injectable drugs – which already have market approval – is not known and requires further investigation.’
She added that a wider range of treatments will be beneficial for patient access as well as choice of medicine.
Over weight? I’m delighted to prescribing a course of wedgies.