A new weight loss drug may be on the horizon

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 27. 10:55

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In recent years, GLP-1-based drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which were originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes but later turned out to be effective against obesity, have gained immense popularity worldwide. However, a new drug, ecnoglutide, has now become the focus of attention, which according to its developers is not only more effective, but also cheaper and easier to manufacture.

The study, published in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, reported the results of a phase III clinical trial. The research involved 621 type 2 diabetic patients aged between 18 and 75 who received ecnoglutide or the already marketed dulaglutide once a week for a year, while also taking metformin.

According to the results, both drugs significantly reduced blood sugar levels, but there was a clear difference in weight loss: patients taking ecnoglutide lost almost twice as much weight as the control group using the other drug.

The drug’s mechanism of action is similar to semaglutide: it is an agonist of the GLP-1 hormone receptor, which increases insulin production, reduces appetite and slows digestion, thereby helping to stabilize blood sugar levels. However, ecnoglutide is designed to activate the cAMP signaling pathway, which is key to harnessing the benefits of GLP-1, while not affecting other chemical systems.

According to the researchers, this means that the new drug could offer a more effective alternative not only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but also for promoting weight loss. The aim of the next clinical trials will be to accurately compare how competitive ecnoglutide is with existing semaglutide-based drugs.

If the current results are confirmed in further research, ecnoglutide could significantly transform the market for weight loss and diabetes drugs – both in terms of effectiveness and price.