Amycretin is taken orally and targets GLP-1 hormone which regulates hunger
Novo Nordisk’s daily weight loss pill can lower body weight by up to 13 per cent, results have shown after a three-month Phase 1 clinical trial, according to findings presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Spain. According to the results, the rate of weight loss with the experimental pill – known as amycretin, appears to be more rapid than even the popular Wegovy.
“It’s roughly double the weight loss rate seen with current GLP-1 agonists and approaching procedural or surgical-level outcomes,” said Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist who runs a weight loss clinic in North Carolina. “It shows potential promise.”
Amycretin is taken orally and targets the same GLP-1 hormone as other weight loss drugs like Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound, as well as stimulating another hormone, amylin, which regulates hunger.
The results, according to the Danish pharma giant, exceed weight loss from its blockbuster drug Wegovy, which was around 6 per cent at 12 weeks. Nove has called amycretin safe and well-tolerated and had a similar side effect profile to its other medicines in the field like semaglutide, the injectable GLP-1 drug sold as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss.
Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and the senior medical director for the Population Health Management Office at Duke Health, said the results looked impressive. "How could they achieve weight loss that quickly?" Spratt asked. "It's almost like a miracle pill,” she told NBC News.
How was the trial conducted?
Novo says the 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. The participants’ multiple doses including increasing some participants’ dose levels over time, were also tested.
After 12 weeks, participants on the highest dose had lost an average of 13.1 per cent of their body weight, compared with an average loss of 1.1 per cent of body weight among those taking a placebo.
According to Novo Nordisk, the drug is safe, with side effects totally in line with those of Ozempic and Wegovy. Common side effects of those drugs include nausea, diarrhoea, stomach pain, and vomiting.
More research needed
According to scientists, the findings are early, and more research is needed, for a longer period of time since the drug cannot be directly compared to existing weight loss drugs as there has been no head-to-head trial. The results have also not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Novo’s head of development Martin Lange Holst has agreed the trial was small and has promised the results would be subjected to further research. He said a larger Phase 2 trial will be conducted in the second half of this year, with results expected in early 2026.
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