A new daily weight loss pill from Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, has shown promising results in early trials, reducing body weight by up to 13% after just three months. The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Spain on Tuesday (September 10). The experimental pill, called amycretin, appears to induce weight loss at a rate more rapid than other existing drugs.
Amycretin works similarly to semaglutide, the drug in Wegovy and Ozempic. It's a GLP-1 agonist, which mimics a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite. However, it also imitates a second hormone, called amylin, which can also promote a feeling of fullness. The results of the trials are based on a Phase 1 clinical trial of adults who were overweight or had obesity who took either amycretin or a placebo daily for up to 12 weeks.
After 12 weeks, participants on the highest dose had lost an average of 13.1% of their body weight, compared with an average loss of 1.1% of body weight among those taking a placebo. According to NBC News, Novo Nordisk said the drug appeared to be safe, with side effects in line with those of Ozempic and Wegovy.
However, the results are preliminary and more research is needed, particularly over a longer period of time. The drug can’t be directly compared to existing weight loss drugs because they weren’t tested in a head-to-head trial. The results also haven’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal.