A next-generation Novo Nordisk weight problems drug designed to hit two targets has preliminary medical knowledge displaying 22% weight reduction, outcomes that recommend the once-weekly injection may 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 remedy of weight problems and kind 2 diabetes, testing each injectable and oral formulations. The outcomes introduced Friday are from a Part 1b/2a research evaluating amycretin administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection in 125 sufferers with chubby 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 research was for the very best dose: 20 mg weekly for 36 weeks. The outcomes reported by Novo Nordisk additionally present that individuals who obtained a placebo skilled weight acquire, which is uncommon for an weight problems research. Concerning amycretin’s security, the corporate stated the drug’s profile was in line with different therapies that mimic intestine hormones. Gastrointestinal issues are frequent with these therapies, and Novo Nordisk stated most such occasions within the trial have been gentle to reasonable. The corporate provided no extra element.
Novo Nordisk is taking a number of pictures on the aim of creating a next-generation weight problems drug. CagriSema, for instance, combines semaglutide, the primary pharmaceutical ingredient within the firm’s accredited weight problems med Wegovy, with one other engineered peptide referred to as cagrilintide. Novo Nordisk final month reported this once-weekly injection achieved statistically important weight reduction in a Part 3 research, however these outcomes have been beneath investor expectations. Primarily based on the encouraging early outcomes from the amycretin research, Novo Nordisk stated it’s planning additional medical growth of this drug candidate in adults with chubby or weight problems.
Evaluating medication throughout medical 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 be aware despatched to buyers, William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh stated the very 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 individuals who obtained a placebo, which may 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 research drug within the medical trial. The outcomes have been based mostly on those that adhered to remedy, which Hsieh stated has the potential to inflate the remedy impact within the real-world setting.
The shortage 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 — larger than Lilly’s Zepbound in its pivotal research.
“We thus await detailed outcomes from [Novo Nordisk’s] injectable amycretin trial at a medical convention this 12 months to raised assess the drug’s full profile,” Risinger stated.
Picture: Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix Denmark/AFP, through Getty Photos
