By this stage, Ozempic has become a part of our healthcare vernacular. Now, there’s a new weight-loss medication to add to your vocab: amycretin, an experimental pill promising to outperform existing weight-loss treatments with double the potency and appeal.

Novo Nordisk, the creators of the diabetes drug Ozempic, has unveiled amycretin, a pill that’s gaining attention for its efficacy. In a 12-week placebo-controlled study, amycretin enabled patients to shed 13 per cent of their body weight with one daily tablet – double the amount of weekly Wegovy injections, which led to a 6 per cent weight reduction.

Amycretin’s appeal extends beyond its potency; its oral tablet form is a game-changer for those deterred by needles. However, patience is required as its market debut is anticipated post-2026, pending further research outcomes.

How does amycretin work?

Like Ozempic and Wegovy, amycretin harnesses the compound semaglutide, which mimics a gut hormone called GLP-1 that is normally released after eating. This makes people feel full, reduces their appetite, and boosts the release of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

It was approved solely to treat type 2 diabetes (as is still the case in Australia), but is now used as an off-label treatment for weight loss, against official advice.

 

What are the side effects of amycretin?

As with any medication, understanding amycretin’s side effects is crucial. According to Novo Nordisk, early indications suggest that amycretin’s side effects were similar to those of Wegovy, which tend to be nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, especially for people who increase the dose too quickly. However, the upcoming trials will provide a more precise safety profile.

Data from the mid-stage trial will not be available until around 2026, at the earliest, and regulators are likely to want an even more comprehensive trial to assess efficacy and safety to authorise it.

 

How fast do you lose weight on Amycretin?

A daily oral tablet of amycretin caused patients to lose 13 per cent of their weight in 12 weeks during the placebo-controlled trial. This is more than the equivalent figures for Wegovy and Ozempic, of six per cent, and for Mounjaro, of about seven and a half per cent.

But amycretin’s potency lies in its dual-action mechanism. It not only mimics GLP-1 but also amylin, a hormone pivotal in regulating hunger and blood sugar levels. Amylin inhibits food intake, delays gastric emptying, and decreases blood glucose levels, reducing body weight. This dual-action formula seems to make it more potent still – at least over the first three months of treatment.

The excitement around amycretin extends to the broader medical community, with companies like Novo and Zealand Pharma exploring its integration into future weight loss therapies. In light of these encouraging preliminary findings, Novo intends to move forward to a more extensive Phase 2 trial later this year.

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Novo’s head of development, Martin Lange Holst, is optimistic about the drug’s trajectory and believes its results justify further research into the pill. The upcoming trial in 2026 will offer a clearer picture of amycretin’s safety profile, which is crucial for its journey towards market approval.

Is amycretin safer than Ozempic for weight loss?

It is too soon to know how amycretin stacks up against other medicines for long-term effectiveness and safety.

While GLP-1-based treatments have a decade-long track record for managing type 2 diabetes, amylin’s long-term effects are still unknown. The forthcoming years are pivotal in determining amycretin’s safety and effectiveness relative to its peers.

However, the growing popularity of this drug class comes with a cautionary note on usage to avoid the risks associated with misuse, as evidenced by increasing calls to poison information centres related to medication errors and incorrect dosages.

The Victorian Poisons Information Centre received 82 related calls within two years, with medication administration errors being the primary reason for calls (74 per cent). The NSW Poisons Information Centre data pointed to more than 120 related calls last year, mainly concerning incorrect dosages.

Sera Bozza is an evidence-based dating coach and the founder of the dating coaching brand ‘Sideswiped.’ You can read more of her work here.

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