A NEW weight loss jab that only needs to be taken once monthly leads to “substantial weight loss”;, according to early trials.
Drugs like and – or jab – need to be injected once weekly to see results.
But a new drug currently being trialled by pharmaceutical company Amgen can be given once a month and saw users shed up to 16 per cent of their body weight over the course of a year.
This is bellow the 20 per cent weight loss than can be achieved through Mounjaro – dubbed the ‘King Kong’ of – over 18 months.
But scientists behind the new trial said the less frequent dose schedule could encourage people to stick to the treatment.
The drug is called maridebart cafraglutide, or MariTide for short.
Like Wegoy, Mounjaro and Ozempic, it’s a, meaning it targets the GLP-1 receptors in the brain and pancreas to reduce appetite and control blood sugar.
But it also targets glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors, which are also involved in managing insulin release, fat storage, metabolism, and appetite.
This is part of the reason the drug needs to be administered less often.
“In this phase two trial, once-monthly maridebart cafraglutide resulted in substantial weight reduction in participants with with or without type 2 diabetes,”;they wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine.
“Once-monthly therapeutics for obesity may offer sustainable treatment for persons with this highly prevalent, chronic disease.
“Medication at less frequent intervals may improve adherence and reduce barriers, potentially facilitating improvements in long-term outcomes.”;
There were 592 people aged 18 or older enrolled in the study – 465 of them were obese, defined as having a BMI of 30 or more, or a BMI of 27 with one obesity-related complication.
The remaining participants had obesity as well as type 2 diabetes.
They were randomly given monthly maridebart cafraglutideinjections or a placebo for a year, at dose of 140, 280, or 420 mg.
Some participants remained on a stable dose throughout, while others gradually worked up to a higher one.
Participants were asked to report any side effects they experienced from the drug, such as nausea, vomiting, retching, headaches, diarrhoea and constipation
Those with obesity lost 12.3 to 16.2 per cent of their body weight while taking maridebart cafraglutide over 52 weeks, compared to people taking a placebo who only lost 2.5 per cent of their weight.
As for people with diabetes and obesity, they lost 8.4 to 12.3 per cent of their body weight on the drug, compared to 1.7 per cent weight loss for placebo-takers.
Almost all participants taking maridebart cafraglutide experienced at least one side-effect from the drug – mild to moderate nausea, vomiting and retching were the most frequently reported side-effects.
These effects were less severe when participants gradually built up to a full dose of maridebart cafraglutide, which may be the best way to get people started on it in the future.
Two deaths were reported in participants who received maridebart cafraglutide, but both were investigated and deemed unrelated to the drug.
A handful of people taking the drug reported , which can also be an issue with other weight loss jabs.
Some also experienced and suicidal thoughts while participating in the trial. One person taking maridebart cafraglutide and one person on the placebo drug withdrew as a result.
This was a phase two clinical trial, meaning it still needs to be tested on a bigger group of participants over a longer time period.
Amgen deemed the results promising enough to progress to a phase three trial.
“This phase two dose-ranging trial investigating the efficacy and safety of maridebart cafraglutide, a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist and GIP receptor antagonist administered once monthly or less frequently, showed substantial weight reduction and no new or unexpected safety signals, supporting advancement to phase three,”; researchers wrote.
They estimated MariTide could lead to even more , beyond a year of use.
“A weight plateau was not reached at 52 weeks, with weight continuing a downward trajectory,”;they noted.
“Therefore, longer-term trials are needed to assess the full weight efficacy of this agent.”;
