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Ozempic is just the beginning of a new era in the treatment of obesity. A review published this week foreshadows the emergence of similar experimental drugs that may be more effective in helping people lose weight.
Researchers at McGill University conducted the study, which was a review of clinical trials surrounding GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (used in Ozempic and Wegovy). The researchers also confirmed the safety and effectiveness of modern drugs. But he also pointed to the growth of new products like retatrutide, which have helped people lose more than 20% of their original weight in trials so far.
Semaglutide it is a synthetic and long-lasting form of the GLP-1 hormone – a hormone that regulates appetite and insulin production, among other things. Produced by Novo Nordisk, semaglutide was first approved for type 2 diabetes in 2017 as Ozempic, then for obesity in 2021 as Wegovy. It is far from the first GLP-1 drug to reach humans, but semaglutide has been a game changer in the treatment of obesity. It has been shown to help people lose between 10% and 15% of their weight in studies, above the success seen with diet and exercise alone and beyond the effects of older GLP-1 drugs.
Semaglutide isn’t the only new kid on the block, though. It’s Eli Lilly tirzepatide it mimics GLP-1 and another hunger-related hormone called GIP – a powerful combination that has led to the elimination of semaglutide. In clinical trials, people on tirzepatide lost about 20% of their starting weight. There are many other obesity-related drugs in the pipeline, some of which have undergone human trials and are poised to eclipse even tirzepatide.
McGill researchers analyzed data from 26 randomized trials of GLP-1 drugs, dual agonists like tirzepatide, and triple agonist drugs like retatrutide, which combine synthetic forms of three hunger-related hormones: GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon. The trial included people who were obese but did not have type 2 diabetes.
As expected, they found that the drugs approved today are generally safe and effective, with tirzepatide being the most effective (participants lost up to 17% of body weight after 72 weeks of treatment). But they also reported that retatrutide was effective in the short term, with participants losing up to 22% of their body weight after just 48 weeks of treatment.
“We found that, of the 12 GLP-1 (drugs) identified by our analysis, the greatest reduction in body weight was reported in randomized trials of retatrutide, tirzepatide, and semaglutide,” the researchers wrote in their paper. printed Tuesday in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Retatrutide is being developed by Eli Lilly, and it is now being tested in a phase 3 trial that will reach the end of 2026. And it will not be the only new product that is coming soon that will replace the drugs that are available today.
For example, last year, the experimental results of the drug amycretin (manufactured by Novo Nordisk) he encouraged that it can give more weight than semaglutide and tirzepatide. Other pharmaceutical companies are working on competitors to Ozempic, such as Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma’s dual agonist. pressure cookers. Expectations are high for Novo Nordisk stock you’re real when they announced that their drug agent CagriSema (a combination of semaglutide and cagrilintide experimental drug) only helped people lose 22% weight in recent trials, not the 25% expected.
The drug has no effect, of course. They cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting, and are linked to rare but serious complications such as gastroparesis syndrome (abdominal paralysis). Another major concern is their cost, with semaglutide and tirzepatide often costing up to $1,000 a month without insurance (which is often not covered by private and public insurance). High cost and demand has led to a gray is the black market These products, and people turn to cheap, but less safe Bibles combined with fake.
Some experts hope that the advent of GLP-1-related drugs will help reduce some of these issues, especially cost and insurance. Whether that actually happens, we have to see. But it is certain that there will be more drugs to come for semaglutide and tirzepatide’s current crown as the best drug for obesity.
