A daily weight loss pill from Novo Nordisk was shown to lower body weight by up to 13% after three months in a Phase 1 clinical trial, according to findings presented Tuesday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rate of weight loss with the experimental pill, called amycretin, appears to be more rapid than what\u2019s seen for other drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s roughly double the weight loss rate seen with current GLP-1 agonists<\/a> and approaching procedural or surgical-level outcomes,\u201d said Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist who runs a weight loss clinic in North Carolina. \u201cIt shows potential promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and the senior medical director for the Population Health Management Office at Duke Health, said the results looked impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How could they achieve weight loss that quickly?” Spratt asked. “It’s almost like a miracle pill.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The findings are early \u2014 more research is needed, particularly over a longer period of time \u2014 and the drug can\u2019t be directly compared to existing weight loss drugs because they weren\u2019t tested in a head-to-head trial. The results also haven\u2019t been published in a peer-reviewed journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin Lange, executive vice president and head of development at Novo Nordisk, said in a statement that amycretin works in a similar way to semaglutide, the drug in Wegovy and Ozempic<\/a>. It\u2019s a GLP-1 agonist, which mimics a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite<\/a>. However, it also imitates a second hormone, called amylin, which can also promote a feeling of fullness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuesday\u2019s results were based on a Phase 1 clinical trial of adults who were overweight or had obesity who got either amycretin or a placebo daily for up to 12 weeks. Researchers also tested multiple doses of the drug, including increasing some participants\u2019 dose levels over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of a Phase 1 trial is to look at the safety of a new drug, including determining what doses work best for patients. Later trials focus on how well the drug works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That having been said, people who got the weight loss drug did lose weight: 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Novo Nordisk said the drug appeared to be safe, with side effects in line with\u2002<\/a>those of\u2002<\/a>Ozempic and Wegovy<\/a>. Common side effects of those drugs can include nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lange said the drugmaker has started a Phase 2 trial in people with Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McGowan said that while the weight loss was significant, <\/strong>he still has concerns about how fast people lost weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile losing weight is seemingly the end goal, how that weight is lost matters,\u201d he said. \u201cPatients losing weight in a healthy, sustainable manner will be far more likely to maintain their weight and preserve lean mass<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also said he wanted more details about the side effects patients experienced while they were on the pill, which could provide more insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid patients lose weight more rapidly because they were less hungry or because they were sick?\u201d McGowan said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spratt said she would like to know how much of the weight loss came from fat compared with muscle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Muscle actually helps you metabolize glucose,” the body’s primary source of energy, she said. “Physicians worry about [losing] muscle mass, especially in their elderly patients.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also had questions about dropout rates in the trial, details that would most likely be shared if the results are published in a journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How are they losing so much weight? How much nausea and vomiting are there?” she asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow much weight loss is too much?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n