In yet another addition to the skyrocketing weight-loss drug market, amycretin is sparking attention among researchers and the medical community due to its potential greater efficacy compared with existing semaglutide medications and the fact it is administered orally as a pill rather than by weekly injection.
Amycretin, an experimental weight loss drug, in pill form, developed by Danish company Novo Nordisk, has shown promising early results, surpassing the effectiveness of established treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide).
In a phase 1 trial conducted by Novo Nordisk, amycretin demonstrated a significant reduction in body weight, with participants experiencing a 13% decrease over a 3-month period. This improvement surpassed the 6% reduction achieved by existing medications.
The results were released during the company’s capital markets day on 7 March 2024.
Amycretin mechanism of action
Amycretin is a GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist, and Novo is optimistic it will deliver additive benefits with a differentiated mode of action from its comparable GLP-1 drug (semaglutide), marketed as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.
Amylin receptors are located on β-cells in the pancreas, while GLP-1 receptors are concentrated in L-cells in the intestine.
According to Novo, amycretin is a unimolecular candidate, meaning that it combines two mechanisms of action in a single molecule for complementary additive effect. It is a co-agonist of GLP-1 and amylin receptors, both of which have a role in appetite regulation and glucose control. Amylin, Novo says, also shows potential for additional and complementary benefits to GLP-1 in metabolic diseases and is involved in bone homeostatis and body composition.
The company says the Phase 1 results of amylin analogues have appeared to have safe and well-tolerated profiles in clinical trials and that the findings also encourage further assessment of amycretin.
“Amycretin is an analog to amylin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas that is involved in appetite, weight, and blood sugar levels. This has large-scale implications as it represents the first oral hormonal medication for obesity, unlike GLP-1 analogs like semaglutide and tirzepatide which are both injections…,’ Dr Jared Ross, a professor and medical director at the Henry Ford College Paramedic Program and the medical director for Trauma Services at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Missouri, US (not involved in this study) explained to medicalnewstoday.com.
“Amylin analogs stimulate both the GLP-1 receptors in the gut and the amylin receptors in the pancreas,” he added. “Another amylin analog, an injected medication called cagrilintide, in combination with semaglutide (a GLP-1 analog) has been shown in two small studies to have greater weight loss and better blood sugar control than with semaglutide alone.”
Dr Ross cautioned that, in addition to determining long-term benefits and adverse effects, “one of the major concerns with these hormone medications is that the effects appear to reverse once the medication is stopped, making life-long use necessary.”
Weight loss drug in pill form
Unlike its counterparts, Novo’s amycretin is administered orally once daily as a pill rather than through weekly injections. This pill form may offer increased convenience and preference for patients.
Dr Simon C Cork, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK (not involved in this study), told medicalnewstoday.com: “The results from this study are exciting as they demonstrate what appears to be another effective drug in the rapidly growing weight loss field.
“However, we must await peer-reviewed published clinical trials before we can say for certain how this drug compares with others.
“What is particularly notable with this drug is that it is taken orally, rather than via injection — as [with] Ozempic and Wegovy — which will undoubtedly be more appealing to patients.”
Novo Nordisk most valuable company in Europe
Although further research is needed to ascertain the long-term efficacy and safety profile of amycretin, the initial findings have propelled Novo Nordisk’s stock value by more than 8%. Since June 2021, when it launched Wegovy in the US, Novo’s shares have risen more than three-fold, and last year it became Europe’s most valuable listed company, ahead of LVMH.
Wegovy has been growing at an astonishing rate, with sales increasing by more than 400% last year. Undoubtedly, while Wegovy has been an exceptional asset for Novo, amycretin could prove even more promising.
