After screening 20,000 protein-encoding genes in the human body, Stanford researchers have identified a naturally occurring molecule that works like semaglutide, most popularly known as Ozempic, to put the brakes on appetite and weight gain.
Since its release in the United States in 2017, the injectable drug Ozempic has not only helped thousands lose weight, but it's also been shown to have a wide range of other health-boosting effects. It has shown promise in fighting alcohol addiction; relieving knee pain from osteoarthritis; reducing the risk of kidney failure and death in some type 2 diabetics; and temper the negative effects being overweight has on the heart.
Next-gen weight-loss drugs will be here within 12 months
By Bronwyn Thompson
March 24, 2025
It was only a matter of time until the GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy were superseded, and now it looks like we'll have the next generation of these breakthrough weight loss and diabetes medicines on shelves by early next year.
Less than five years on from when Novo Nordisk's semaglutide drug received FDA approval for weight loss (Wegovy), the Danish pharmaceutical company has announced it will seek regulatory approval in the first quarter of 2026 for CagriSema. This drug is again a once-a-week injection that combines the long-acting amylin analogue, cagrilintide, with semaglutide. It works in a similar way to just semaglutide, but may offer better glycemic control and higher weight-loss outcomes.
While it didn't reach the lofty weight-loss goals of its earlier trials, in Phase III it nonetheless saw participants shed an average of 15.7% of their bodyweight over 68 weeks, compared to 3.1% in the placebo group. It may not have met the high bar that Novo Nordisk earlier predicted, but it still achieved its primary endpoint.
Trump administration nixes plan to cover anti-obesity drugs through Medicare
President Donald Trump’s administration has decided not to cover expensive, high-demand obesity treatments under the federal government’s Medicare program.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday that it would not cover the medications under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage. Medicare covers health care expenses mainly for people age 65 and older.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule in late November after Trump won re-election that would have extended coverage of drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. The rule was not expected to be finalized until Trump took office.
Trump returned to office in January. The Senate confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday.
CMS did not offer an explanation Friday for its decision, and federal spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This time next year, you may be swapping your GLP-1 injections for easier and as-effective oral weight-loss medication. It's also likely to be cheaper and not suffer the same kind of supply-chain shortages that existing therapeutics have faced. But it's been a dramatic few weeks for the leading three drug-makers vying to usher in this new phase of weight-loss treatment.
It's no surprise that this is one of the most hotly contested therapeutics races of the decade: Last year, the global glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist market was estimated to be worth US$53.5 million. Some estimates suggest it'll be worth more than $150 billion by 2035.
And while it's only a matter of time until Ozempic-like drugs are available as oral medication, the past few weeks have seem one small victory and a huge setback for some of the big players in the field.
Amid profits updates and shareholder news, Pfizer released a statement titled "Pfizer provides update on oral GLP-1 receptor agonist danuglipron." The company quietly announced that it was ditching its once-daily oral drug due to liver toxicity concerns following analysis of Phase III trial data.
"While the overall frequency of liver enzyme elevations across the over 1,400 participant safety database of danuglipron is in-line with approved agents in the class, a single asymptomatic participant in one of the dose-optimization studies experienced potential drug-induced liver injury which resolved after discontinuation of danuglipron," Pfizer said in the statement.
Dual-target weight-loss drug is 47% more effective than its rival
By Paul McClure
May 12, 2025
https://newatlas.com/disease/obesity/co ... ight-loss/
The first clinical trial comparing semaglutide and tirzepatide, two popular, injectable weight-loss drugs, has been published, examining their ability to reduce weight and waist circumference. And one clearly comes out on top.
Injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) have revolutionized weight loss. But, strangely, no one has compared the two to determine which one is better at shedding the pounds. Until now.
A new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine in New York was the first to undertake a head-to-head comparison of the weight loss effectiveness of semaglutide and tirzepatide, and one of them clearly came out on top.
Eliminating one amino acid leads to 30% weight loss in a week
By Michael Franco
May 21, 2025
By eliminating the essential amino acid cysteine from the diets of mice, and disabling their ability to produce it, scientists have induced rapid and dramatic weight loss. The technique opens a new pathway to explore in weight-loss science.
In carrying out the study, researchers at New York University looked at the effects of eliminating a series of amino acids from the diets of mice, as well as genetically altering them to be unable to produce the compounds. Of all the aminos tested, knocking out cysteine led to rapid and drastic weight loss, reducing some of the rodents' body weights by 30% in just seven days.
The reason for the result was that when the cysteine was blocked, there was a corresponding drop in a small molecule called coenzyme A (CoA), which is found in all living things and is responsible for metabolic processes, including metabolizing fatty acids. When the levels of CoA dropped, there was a disruption in oxidative phosphorylation, a process that produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that stores and releases energy in the body.
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are used by more than 15 million adults in the U.S., or 4.5% of the population. Despite their effectiveness, they have drawbacks. Their effect may not last after discontinuing use, and side effects including osteoporosis and muscle loss have raised concerns about long-term harms. They also induce nausea, which can make it difficult to stay the course of treatment.
Now Tufts researchers led by Krishna Kumar, Robinson Professor of Chemistry, have designed a new, next-generation compound with hopes that it could be more effective with fewer side effects, which they report in a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
While weight-loss drugs currently on the market and in development target one, two, or even three hormone receptors related to glucose metabolism and the desire to eat, the Tufts team has identified a fourth target that could potentially further enhance the control strategy.
New weight-loss drug sails through all-important Phase III trial
By Bronwyn Thompson
June 21, 2025
A novel weight loss drug in the same class as semaglutide has successfully met its targets in its largest clinical trial yet, with nearly 90% of participants losing at least 5% of their body weight. The results strengthen its case for US Food and Drug Administration approval.
Known as ecnoglutide, the drug is a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-biased glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which may be more effective in targeting weight loss and insulin secretion due to the single pathway it activates within cells.
The Phase III SLIMMER trial by researchers at the Peking University People’s Hospital in China, involved 664 overweight or obese participants without diabetes, who were randomly assigned once-weekly ecnoglutide (either 1.2, 1.8, or 2.4 mg doses) or a placebo for 48 weeks.
Ozempic maker announces not one, but three new weight-loss drugs
By Bronwyn Thompson
June 23, 2025
Over the weekend, Novo Nordisk dropped a pile of scientific data on three new experimental weight-loss drugs, including an oral one, showing what appears to be a strategic "something for everyone" plan of attack from the pharmaceutical giant.
Weight loss therapeutics is a lucrative market and one that has now landed Novo Nordisk DKK65.1 billion, or more than US$10 billion, in profits – with nearly half of this from 2024 alone. But the makers of Ozempic and Wegovy have plenty of competition, including a new dark horse from China we recently reported on, made by rising pharma company Sciwind.
A once-monthly jab cuts body weight by 16% in groundbreaking obesity trial
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
June 25, 2025
https://newatlas.com/disease/obesity/mo ... gen-trial/
A new drug from California-based pharma company Amgen, which has concluded a phase II trial, shows promise as a powerful treatment for obesity. With just a once-monthly shot of 'MariTide,' participants in the study lost as much as 16% of their body weight over the course of a year.
That's comparable to the average results seen by folks who take the popular weight loss medication Ozempic once a week. By contrast, a monthly dosage is easier to stick with, and can potentially be made available more easily to patients in remote areas where medical supplies are delivered less frequently.
The phase 2 trial saw 592 participants aged over 18 and with a body mass index or BMI (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) higher than 30. A number of them were both obese and suffered from Type 2 Diabetes.
One amino acid triggers weight loss that doesn't rely on eating less
By Paul McClure
July 12, 2025
Cutting a single amino acid from the diet caused rapid, drastic weight loss in mice by converting white fat into calorie-burning brown fat. The study reveals a powerful new mechanism for weight loss that doesn’t rely on eating less and moving more.
When we think of “body fat,” we’re most likely thinking of white fat, which stores energy from the food we eat and builds up when we take in more calories than we burn. White fat has been linked to health problems like heart disease and diabetes. Brown fat, on the other hand, is much more beneficial. It burns energy instead of storing it, producing heat to keep our bodies warm in a process called thermogenesis.
Belly-fat-melting jab is now one step away from FDA approval
By Bronwyn Thompson
July 19, 2025
What if you could inject a drug into a "problem area" – like abdominal fat – that could kill off fat cells and reduce fat stores in that localized spot? That's what a novel drug from Taiwan's Caliway Pharmaceuticals offers, the world's very first injection that triggers programmed fat-cell death in a targeted area, like the belly or the thighs.
Known as CBL-514, this small-molecule drug induces adipocyte apoptosis, which kills fat cells rather than starves them, meaning different regions of subcutaneous fat stores can be rapidly reduced in just a few weeks after a single dose. It's currently being tested for three uses: Non-surgical fat reduction, Dercum's disease – which causes painful fatty tumors to build up around the body, and cellulite.
World-first obesity pill reprograms fat cells to burn calories with zero effort
By Bronwyn Thompson
July 23, 2025
The first human-tested weight-loss drug that burns calories through creatine-based heat generation, without reducing appetite, has successfully completed its Phase I trial.
Scientists from the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo (IP Montevideo) and the University of the Republic (Udelar) have built on their promising preclinical mouse study to demonstrate that SANA, a small molecule drug that harnesses an unexplored fat-burning pathway, is not only safe for human use but effective.
Medicare, Medicaid plans to experiment with covering weight loss drugs
The Trump administration is planning an experiment to cover weight loss drugs under Medicare and Medicaid, potentially benefiting millions of Americans struggling with obesity.
Updated
August 1, 2025
By Paige Winfield Cunningham
Some obese Americans on Medicare and Medicaid could get access to expensive weight loss drugs under a five-year experiment being planned by the Trump administration.
Under the proposed plan, state Medicaid programs and Medicare Part D insurance plans will be able to voluntarily choose to cover Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound for patients for “weight management” purposes, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services documents obtained by The Washington Post.
Oral 'Ozempic' delivers 30-lb weight loss in crucial Phase III trial
By Bronwyn Thompson
August 07, 2025
It looks likely we'll see oral GLP-1 drugs on the market by next year, with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly reporting impressive results following a large, robust 72-week trial that saw obese participants lose an average of 27.3 lb, or 12.4% of their body weight with the once-daily pill.
This week the company announced positive results from its Phase 3 ATTAIN-1 trial of the GLP-1 receptor agonist known as orforglipron, given to 3,127 adults with obesity over 72 weeks. In the long study, all doses passed their efficacy and tolerability benchmarks compared to a placebo, with clinically significant results across the board.
Now, the US drug maker is set to apply for global approval of orforglipron by the end of 2025, meaning it's likely to be the first oral weight-loss drug in this class and likely to be on offer in the new year.
An international team of researchers led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark has pinpointed some of the reasons why obesity does not affect everyone in the same way. Their study, published in Nature Medicine, identifies genetic differences that help explain why some people with obesity remain relatively healthy while others develop serious conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
The team analyzed genetic data from 452,768 people and discovered variants in 205 regions of the genome linked to higher body fat but better metabolic health. Using these discoveries, they developed a genetic risk score that adds up the impact of these variants. Individuals with higher scores were more likely to develop obesity—but were less likely to suffer from complications such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or heart disease. This is due, in part, to the way fat cells behave in different people.
While Ozempic and other drugs like it have proven effective in helping people lose weight, many gain it back when the injections stop. A new drug targets weight loss differently, leading to a more permanent fat-shedding solution.
While their formulations are all slightly different, drugs like Trulicity, Ozempic, and Wegovy are all Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. These drugs work, in part, by slowing the emptying of stomach contents and increasing a sense of fullness. The problem, however, is that when you stop taking the drug, the feelings of fullness fade, and weight gain can return.
At this year's meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria, researchers from Resalis Therapeutics, a biotech company in Turin, Italy, just announced a weight-loss drug that works differently. The drug, which is called RES-010, works by employing an antisense oligonucleotide, a synthetic bit of genetic material that blocks the action of an RNA molecule known as miR-22. It is now in phase 1 clinical trials in humans.