A new weight-loss drug could make patients lose twice the amount of fat they would with popular drugs such as Ozempic, early trial data has shown.
Obese patients who took the weekly injection lost about 19 percent of their body weight, on average, after five and a half months of treatment.
By comparison, several trials have shown that semaglutide (the drug from Wegovy and Ozempic) produces about a 10 percent reduction in body weight after six months.
Additionally, all patients with prediabetes taking the new drug were found to be in remission at the end of the trial.
Data from the study, presented Thursday by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, show the rate of side effects is similar to other injections currently available.
Roche’s trial showed that participants taking the drug lost an average of 18.8 percent of their body weight over 24 weeks.
Roche’s share price rose four percent on news of the new drug. Shown above for the last five days.
Side effects included Mild to moderate gastrointestinal effects, such as nausea and vomiting.
The drug, called CT-388, was tested in a Phase 1 trial, designed to test whether the drugs are safe for human use.
The study involved 31 obese adults with no underlying conditions, including type 2 diabetes. A separate trial is planned to test the drug in diabetics.
At week 24, results showed that 45 percent of participants had lost more than 20 percent of their body weight.
All participants had lost at least five percent of their weight.
Ozempic and Wegovy work by mimicking high levels of natural hormones that regulate blood sugar and suppress appetite.
Roche’s drug acts similarly to Mounjaro and Zepbound, made by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.
It contains the drug tirzepatide which, unlike semaglutide, acts on not one but two appetite suppressing hormones.
These are Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and the hormone Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), which causes feelings of satiety and suppresses appetite.
Studies on Mounjaro and Zepbound suggest that patients can expect to lose about 20 percent of their body weight after 36 weeks on the once-weekly medications.
Dr Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer, said: “We are very pleased to see significant and clinically meaningful weight loss in people treated with CT-388.
“The results are very encouraging for further development of CT-388 for both obesity and type 2 diabetes and underscore its potential to become a best-in-class therapy with long-lasting weight loss and glucose control.”
The drug has a long way to go before reaching the approval stage, and several more trials are needed to demonstrate its effectiveness.
The price of the drug has also not been revealed, but Ozempic sells for more than $900 a month.
The development comes as pharmaceutical companies rush to cash in on the booming weight loss market, which is expected to be worth $44 billion by 2030, up from less than $100 million in 2020.
More than nine million prescriptions for medicines, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, were issued in the last three months of 2022, and companies rushed to expand supply to meet demand.
It also comes amid widespread shortages of weight-loss drugs, with many patients currently struggling to get their hands on Zepbound and Mounjaro.
FDA data shows there are also shortages of Wegovy in some areas, which has been linked to a “surge in demand” ahead of the summer.
Roche’s share prices rose immediately after the study results were announced, jumping four percent.
Other companies have also seen their share prices rise after announcing new weight-loss drugs, including Novo Nordisk, whose shares rose more than eight percent in March after reporting a 13 percent weight loss after 12 weeks. in phase 1 trials of its new Amycretin. pill.
California-based Viking Therapeutics saw its stock value double after reporting phase two results for its own weight-loss drug.