
Novo Nordisk Weight problems Drug Reveals 22% Weight Loss, However Lack of Security Element Is a Sticking Level
A next-generation Novo Nordisk weight problems drug designed to hit two targets has preliminary scientific knowledge displaying 22% weight reduction, outcomes that counsel the once-weekly injection might have an edge over the corporate’s primary metabolic medicines rival, Eli Lilly.
The drug, amycretin, is a peptide designed to bind to and activate each the GLP-1 and amylin receptors. Novo Nordisk is creating the molecule for the therapy of weight problems and kind 2 diabetes, testing each injectable and oral formulations. The outcomes introduced Friday are from a Part 1b/2a examine evaluating amycretin administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection in 125 sufferers with obese or weight problems. The proof-of-concept portion of the trial assessed escalating doses for as much as 36 weeks.
The 22% weight reduction reported within the examine was for the best dose: 20 mg weekly for 36 weeks. The outcomes reported by Novo Nordisk additionally present that contributors who obtained a placebo skilled weight achieve, which is uncommon for an weight problems examine. Concerning amycretin’s security, the corporate mentioned the drug’s profile was per different therapies that mimic intestine hormones. Gastrointestinal problems are frequent with these therapies, and Novo Nordisk mentioned most such occasions within the trial had been delicate to reasonable. The corporate supplied no extra element.
Novo Nordisk is taking a number of pictures on the objective of creating a next-generation weight problems drug. CagriSema, for instance, combines semaglutide, the principle pharmaceutical ingredient within the firm’s accredited weight problems med Wegovy, with one other engineered peptide known as cagrilintide. Novo Nordisk final month reported this once-weekly injection achieved statistically vital weight reduction in a Part 3 examine, however these outcomes had been beneath investor expectations. Primarily based on the encouraging early outcomes from the amycretin examine, Novo Nordisk mentioned it’s planning additional scientific improvement of this drug candidate in adults with obese or weight problems.
Evaluating medication throughout scientific trials has limitations, however acknowledging these caveats, analysts see the preliminary amycretin knowledge as supporting Novo Nordisk’s aggressive place versus Eli Lilly’s next-gen weight problems drugs. In a observe despatched to traders, William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh mentioned the best amycretin dose examined seems to barely outperform retatrutide, an experimental Lilly drug designed to hit three targets. However Hsieh additionally flagged the common weight enhance noticed from contributors who obtained a placebo, which might have improved the common weight reduction magnitude for amycretin by 4.5% to five.0%. Moreover, the corporate didn’t say what number of sufferers discontinued the examine drug within the scientific trial. The outcomes had been based mostly on those that adhered to therapy, which Hsieh mentioned has the potential to inflate the therapy impact within the real-world setting.
The dearth of detailed security knowledge was a sticking level for Leerink Companions analyst David Risinger. Although preliminary outcomes for oral amycretin reported final March confirmed sturdy weight reduction outcomes at 12 weeks, the presentation of extra detailed knowledge on the European Society of Diabetes assembly final September confirmed excessive charges of nausea and vomiting — increased than Lilly’s Zepbound in its pivotal examine.
“We thus await detailed outcomes from [Novo Nordisk’s] injectable amycretin trial at a medical convention this yr to raised assess the drug’s full profile,” Risinger mentioned.
Photograph: Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix Denmark/AFP, through Getty Photos