New weight loss shot melts fat WITHOUT nasty side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy, study suggests
A new weight-loss drug could spur the same transformation that Ozempic and Wegovy sparked for thousands of Americans — without unpleasant side effects.
Researchers at Syracuse University are developing a molecule that activates the same receptors in the brain as the two known drugs. Obese mice exposed to it lost 12 percent of their weight in just 16 days.
In addition to its ability to lose weight, which was three times more effective than the diabetes drug Victoza, it also showed no symptoms.
Dubbed GEP44 by researchers, the team hopes that the molecule could form the basis of a highly effective weight loss treatment with limited drawbacks in the future.
If successful, the team will also have a large market. GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro have been flying off the shelves in recent years as many doctors see them as a panacea to combat the US obesity crisis.
Ozempic and Wegovy have grown in popularity thanks to celebrity support and social media. But new research suggests upcoming drugs may have fewer side effects (file photo)
Despite being hailed as one of the most powerful pharmaceutical tools to date, experts have warned that it is not a “magic pill” or panacea. Trials have shown that users can quickly regain pounds once they stop taking the fat-fighting drug, and it can cause a variety of unpleasant side effects. Users often complain of nausea, constipation and diarrhea after taking the medication
“Obesity and diabetes were the pandemic before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Robert Doyle, a principal investigator on the study from Syracuse.
“They are a huge problem and they are only expected to get worse.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 70 percent of Americans are overweight and 40 percent are obese.
Deaths from obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease, have also risen in recent years.
This made finding a pharmaceutical cure for obesity a potential cash cow for major drug brands.
Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharma giant, found great success with its type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide – initially sold under the name Ozempic.
The drug is a GLP-1, which mimics the effects of the hormone naturally produced in a person’s stomach and pancreas.
These hormones signal the brain not to eat, which decreases a person’s appetite and reduces food cravings.
It also slows stomach emptying and increases the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas.
As a result, many patients also experienced intense weight loss.
This spurred Novo to repackage semaglutide as a drug specifically targeting obesity.
Wegovy, as it was renamed, received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2021.
It was so popular that it was in short supply for much of 2022, as everyone from average obese Americans to Hollywood’s elite tried to get their hands on it.
Tech mogul Elon Mush even credited Wegovy for his stark body transformation last year.
But the drugs have intense side effects. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, fatigue, headache and others are typical for Wegovy users.
‘For a long time we thought you couldn’t separate weight loss from nausea and vomiting because they are linked to exactly the same part of the brain,’ explains Dr Doyle.
In their study, which will be presented this week at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Dr. Doyle their peptide against another Novo GLP-1 drug, liraglutide.
They developed a peptide – a molecule containing several amino acids – that would activate the GLP-1 receptor and Peptide YY receptors in the brain, which tell the body to stop eating when stimulated.
They injected one group of mice with the newly formed peptide GEP44, and another with liraglutide – marketed under the name Victoza.
Mice exposed to the peptide reduced their food intake by 80 percent, demonstrating its ability to suppress appetite.
Over the study period, the rodents taking Victoza lost only a third of the weight the other group lost.
In addition to its remarkable effectiveness, mice injected with GEP44 did not experience any side effects.
The treatments were also found to lower blood sugar levels by drawing glucose into muscle tissue where it can be used as fuel, and converting certain cells in the pancreas into insulin-producing cells.
This helps replace those damaged by diabetes.
Those taking Novo’s drug experienced symptoms similar to what would be expected after exposure to a GLP-1.
Dr. Doyle explained that reducing these side effects could be an important factor in the viability of this peptide as the main ingredient in a weight loss drug.
“Within a year, 80 to 90 percent of people who start taking these drugs stop using them,” he explained.
The team plans to next test GEP44 in primates and ultimately determine whether it is suitable for weight loss in humans.