The next generation of weight loss drugs will take the throne of Ozempic

The future of weight loss is fast approaching. At a recent scientific conference, pharmaceutical companies demonstrated a variety of new generation drugs for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Some of these treatments may help people lose even more weight than their current predecessors, such as semaglutide. the active ingredient in the popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, while others may have fewer side effects or be easier to take.

Semaglutide is a drug that mimics GLP-1, one of several hormones that help regulate hunger and blood sugar. Clinical trials have shown that semaglutide is much more effective in treating obesity than diet and exercise. It was previously only approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Like Ozempic, semaglutide was approved. approved for the treatment of obesity in 2021 under the name Wegovy. However, this has already begun to happen. eclipsed with the advent of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, which combines GLP-1 with another incretin hormone called GIP. Tirzepatide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro; in November 2023, it was approved for the treatment of obesity, like Zepbound.

Newer treatments in development are poised to compete and possibly surpass both drugs. The American Diabetes Association held its annual conference over the weekend, and the emergence of these future drugs was an important aspect of the event. The companies presented preliminary data on more than two dozen GLP-1-related drugs in various stages of development.

“We’ve heard about Ozempic, Mounjaro, and so on, but we’re now seeing a lot of different drug candidates, from very early preclinical stage to late clinical stage,” Marlon Pragnell, vice president of research and development. science in ADA, said NBC News. “It’s really exciting to see so many things right now.”

For example, Altimmune’s pemvidutide combines GLP-1 with glucagon, another key hormone that keeps blood sugar levels stable. In a phase II study, according to data presented this weekend, pemvidutide was found to help people lose more than 15% of their starting weight in 48 weeks, which is slightly faster than the rate seen with semaglutide (15% weight loss in 68 weeks). . The dual GLP-1/GIP candidate developed by scientists in China is currently called HRS9531. found cause weight loss of up to 16% in 24 weeks. Eli Lilly too presented New data on a second-generation drug, retrutide, which combines GLP-1, GIP and glucagon, show that it improves insulin’s ability to control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies used retrutide. found cause weight loss of up to 24%, which is the highest rate ever seen with these drugs.

It is not certain that any of the GLP-1 drugs in development will actually outperform semaglutide and tirzepatide in terms of weight loss, but they may still have other advantages over them. Pemvidutide has been found to cause less loss of lean body mass, for example, possibly due to the addition of glucagon (exercise naturally increases glucagon levels, so the drug may mimic some of the beneficial effects of exercise). Some experts skeptical that loss of lean body mass is a serious problem when taking these medications. However, it may be important to prevent it in people who are more vulnerable to muscle or bone loss, such as older adults.

It will take years for these new drugs to reach the public, provided they continue to be successful in larger trials. Its arrival could not only help people who don’t respond to existing treatments, but also reduce the overall high cost of these drugs (without insurance coverage, which is often denied, a monthly supply of semaglutide can exceed $1,000 a month).

“Over the past few years, we have seen the significant impact of new research aimed at addressing the dual health crises we face. obesity and diabetes,” said Robert Gabbay, scientific and medical director of the ADA, in his report. statement ADA. “The research we are seeing presented at this year’s annual meeting shows great promise in developing new solutions and treatment options for patients around the world living with type 2 diabetes and obesity.”