There’s a new weight loss drug candidate in town, and it’s targeted specifically at obese heart patients. Rivus Pharmaceuticals’ HU6 led to statistically significant weight loss in patients with obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in a mid-stage trial (the HuMAIN study). HFpEF patients have symptoms of HF,…

Using drugs to “prime” the melanocortin system could improve the effectiveness, without increasing side effects, of popular diabetes and weight-loss medications, according to new research from the University of Michigan. In one study, mice given a GLP-1 drug in combination with an MC4R agonist or MC3R antagonist showed up to…

While semaglutide has been in the biopharma limelight for its impressive effects on weight loss in adults with and without type 2 diabetes, it looks like it could soon be playing second fiddle to another glucagon-like peptide 1 GLP-1 receptor agonist-based medication when it comes to weight loss. A study…

A novel, bimodal, drug that affects neuroplasticity causes twice the amount of weight loss in obese mice than a GLP-1 agonist alone, researchers have shown. The drug, MK-801, integrates N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonism with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonism. In mice, it reverses obesity, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. The drug’s developers believe that,…

“Next generation” weight loss drug developer Metsera just launched with $290M in funding. Backed by Population Health Partners and ARCH Venture Partners and led by former executives of The Medicines Company, Metsera has a broad portfolio of oral and injectable incretin, non-incretin, and combination therapies designed to address multiple targets.…

Add multiple sclerosis to the list of conditions the new weight loss drugs may help treat. Novel diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy initially showed promise in weight loss and have since been marketed and widely used for this indication. However, a new study based on real world data (RWD)…

Novo Nordisk has just taken two big steps toward cementing its lead in the weight loss treatment market. Late last week, the FDA approved a new label expansion for Wegovy (semaglutide), and just before that the company released promising early trial results for its experimental weight loss pill, amycretin. Patients…

The cognitive benefits from bariatric surgery (BS) continue to accrue after initial weight loss, according to new research from a European team. Bariatric surgery was associated with long-term health benefits, including improvements in comorbidities, inflammation, and cognition. Moreover, higher cortical thickness and lower spatial coefficient of variation were found in…

Early data suggest Amgen’s experimental weight-loss drug MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide) produces similar effects but is longer-lasting than current market leaders, and blockbusters, glucagon-like peptide-1 inhibitors Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide). The study was published in Nature Metabolism this week. The lead authors are Murielle M. Véniant…

AstraZeneca has licensed ECC5004, an investigational oral once-daily glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), from Eccogene for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic conditions. Eccogene will receive an initial upfront payment of $185M and up to $1.825B in future clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones and tiered…

Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide (Mounjaro) led overweight people or people with obesity to lose almost a quarter of their weight in a recent trial that lasted over 72 weeks. Average weight loss was about 60lbs. The drug is a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that…

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that breast cancer survivors taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) lose significantly less weight when given anti-obesity medications than women with no history of breast cancer or AI use. The study highlights a “need to develop better approaches to manage and prevent weight gain in patients with…

Investigators at UCLA have demonstrated that tea, and in particular black tea, may promote weight loss and other health benefits by changing bacteria within the gut. Findings from the new study—published recently in the European Journal of Nutrition, in an article entitled “Decaffeinated Green and Black Tea Polyphenols Decrease Weight…

Vigorous physical activity at least once a week can lower risk of mental decline in people with hypertension, according to a new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. They analyzed data from over 9,000 patients in the landmark SPRINT study. The team found that people who…

A large-scale genome-wide association (GWAS) scan has found that a low-frequency missense variant in the synaptonemal complex central element protein 2 (SYCE2) gene increases the risk of pregnancy loss by 22%. Notably, this variant is transmitted by the mother. “These results support the hypothesis that some pregnancy losses are due…