Researchers claim to have developed a new compound that boosts metabolism and improves blood sugar levels, an advance they say could lead to weight-loss pills that don’t carry the side effects of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have helped many people lose weight. These medications are administered via weekly injections and influence hunger by altering communication between the gut and the brain. However, they have shown side effects such as appetite loss, reduced muscle mass, and gut discomfort.
The new compound, researchers say, boosts metabolic activity directly within muscles instead of acting on hunger pathways.
Experiments in animals previously showed the compound improved blood sugar levels and body composition while avoiding the drawbacks commonly linked to GLP-1 drugs.
A new study involving 48 healthy volunteers and 25 individuals with type 2 diabetes suggests the treatment is also well tolerated in humans.
“Our results point to a future where we can improve metabolic health without losing muscle mass,” molecular biologist Tore Bengtsson from Stockholm University, an author of the new study published in the journal Cell, said. .
“Muscles are important in both type 2 diabetes and obesity, and muscle mass is also directly correlated with life expectancy.”
The new drug is based on a laboratory-developed molecule that acts on receptors in the smooth muscles, which are found throughout the body.
Researchers say the drug acts in a manner that benefits muscle function while avoiding heart overstimulation.
“This drug represents a completely new type of treatment and has the potential to be of great importance for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity,” Shane C Wright, another author of the study from Karolinska Institutet, said.
“Our substance appears to promote healthy weight loss and, in addition, patients do not have to take injections.”
Since the new drug acts via a mechanism distinct from GLP-1 medications, it can be used either on its own or paired with GLP-1 medications.
“This makes them valuable both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with GLP-1 drugs,” Dr Wright said.
Researchers hope a larger phase II clinical trial can reveal whether the drug’s positive effects seen in previous research also appear in people living with type 2 diabetes or obesity.