Amicretin is an experimental weight loss drug from the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk that could be available in its pill version throughout this decade, as announced by the pharmaceutical company’s executive vice president and head of development Martin Holst Lange in statements to the Reuters agency, after revealing preliminary data on its effectiveness that seem very promising, since participants in a clinical trial who were treated with this drug lost 13% of their weight in just 12 weeks.
These results double the effectiveness of Wegovy (which in the same period achieved a loss of 6% of body weight) or Ozempic, which belong to a new class of anti-obesity medications chosen as the best scientific advance of 2023 by Science magazine and which They are administered with an injection, unlike amicretin which is taken orally and which, if it meets the expectations it has generated, could become the ‘magic pill’ that ends the obesity epidemic that already affects 1 billion people. according to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, explained to the American television channel CNBC that amicretin could become the leading treatment in its class for obesity. Building on the success of its flagship weight-loss drug Wegovy, the drugmaker is developing a new generation of obesity treatments, including more convenient and potentially cheaper pills.
How amicretin works, the new diet pill
Martin Holst explained that amicretin suppresses appetite by targeting the same intestinal hormone whose effects Wegovy mimics, which is known as GLP-1 and is responsible for regulating appetite. But amicretin also targets a pancreatic hormone called amylin, which plays a key role in gastric emptying and glucose control and influences feelings of hunger. That is the reason why, according to scientists, amicretin achieves greater weight loss than other medications intended for the same purpose.
The route of administration of amicretin is its other great advantage, since the other anti-obesity drugs that are already available must be injected subcutaneously. In addition, due to the growing demand for Wegovy and similar drugs, shortages have occurred over the last year.
Amicretin targets a pancreatic hormone called amylin, which plays a key role in gastric emptying and glucose control and influences feelings of hunger.
“We believe that in the future there will be different segments of obesity treatments, with different patients having different preferences,” Jørgensen told CNBC. “Some will prefer an injection and we really believe that once we can take a pill it will be a very convenient offering.”
These pills, however, will not reach patients soon, but a mid-phase trial on amicretin still needs to be carried out, which will begin in the second half of this year and whose results are expected in early 2026, as they noted. company sources on March 7.
