Next Generation of Ozempic: 3 Major Breakthroughs to Watch

Semaglutide drugs are having their moment. In just seven years, GLP-1 medications like Ozempic surpassed insulin as the second most common treatment for type 2 diabetes. But the competition hasn't slowed down. What’s next for scientists working on obesity drugs? While eliminating side effects is an obvious goal, the real race is even more captivating.

The Battle to Save Your Muscles

A stark reality faces current users: 40% of weight loss comes from muscle mass, not fat. Muscle is key for metabolism, physical function, and overall health. Less muscle often leads to rapid weight return after stopping medication.

Eli Lilly spent $1.9bn to acquire biopharmaceutical company for its muscle-protection treatments. Regeneron has enlisted hundreds of volunteers to test two muscle-boosting antibodies and is preparing to start recruiting obese patients for the trial soon. BioAgea is actively testing Azelaprag, a muscle-regeneration drug, and reports promising results. Meanwhile, Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding plans to blend muscular dystrophy treatment with weight loss medicine

A Pill Version of Ozempic Is Coming

Imagine no more weekly injections. Just a simple pill with your morning coffee. Sounds perfect, right? Well, science tells us it's complicated.

Creating a pill form of semaglutide has been a challenge due to low bioavailability (how much of the drug reaches its target). Injections are much more efficient. A pill would have to survive the digestive tract, where much of the drug is absorbed before hitting the bloodstream. 

What’s the latest? The Phase 3 trial has wrapped up, and results were published in July of this year. FDA approval and the Phase 4 trial are still pending.

Retatrutide – A Game Changer?

Eli Lilly is developing a more powerful weight-loss drug by adding a extra mechanism to the existing ones. Retatrutide uses three different keys: GLP-1 to reduce appetite, GIP to control blood sugar and adds glucagon to the mix. Glucagon plays a key role in breaking down stored fat and converting it into energy.

In trials, retatrutide led to impressive results, with participants losing an average of 58 pounds in 24 weeks - about 17% of their body weight.

This far exceeds the performance of any current weight-loss drugs on the market.

How close are we to cracking the hunger code? I believe there are still many mechanisms related to appetite waiting to be discovered, which means future medications could deliver even better results.

What do you think? Are these breakthrough drugs the answer to our obesity crisis or are we opening Pandora’s box?

Stay healthy (and hungry for knowledge),

Formerly Obese