The Next Generation of Weight-Loss Drugs Is Almost Here

The field of weight-loss drugs is moving more quickly than ever since medications that mimic GLP-1, a type of peptide hormone in the gut, hit the market to treat weight issues and diabetes. But while there has been huge interest in the drugs, their side effects—which predominantly affect the GI system—cause roughly 40% of people who start them to stop taking them within a year.At the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, researchers from the pharmaceutical companies behind the most popular weight-loss medications reported encouraging results from studies of a new group of injectable medications that may come with fewer side effects.Amylins are a group of peptide hormones that work in similar ways to GLP-1s by curbing appetite signals in the brain and encouraging the stomach to empty. They target different receptors on cells, so their effect can be complementary to that of GLP-1s and other drugs in their hormone group (called incretins). But unlike incretins, amylins don’t seem to cause as many severe side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramping. Scientists from Novo, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic, reported this week th...