Key Highlights
- Novo Nordisk’s experimental drug amycretin shows up to 14.5% weight loss in a mid-stage diabetes study.
- The results arrive just a day after the company’s disappointing Alzheimer’s trial data for semaglutide shook investor confidence.
- Competition intensifies as Eli Lilly’s next-gen drugs deliver up to 20% weight loss.
Novo Nordisk is back in the spotlight after releasing promising mid-stage trial results for its next-generation obesity and diabetes candidate, amycretin, a dual agonist that acts on both GLP-1 and amylin pathways.
The Danish drugmaker, whose obesity drug Wegovy has reshaped the global weight-loss market, told a leading news agency that the new therapy helped patients lose up to 14.5% of their body weight over 36 weeks. Shares in Copenhagen jumped nearly 4% as investors welcomed signs that Novo has a solid successor to semaglutide in the pipeline.
Novo Nordisk’s New Drug- A Crucial Win After Alzheimer’s Setback
The announcement comes at a tense moment for the company. Just 24 hours earlier, Novo reported disappointing Alzheimer’s trial data for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy. Squashing hopes that GLP-1 drugs could make a breakthrough in dementia treatment, as widely reported by Reuters this week.
Although amycretin’s early performance has given the market a fresh narrative, Novo may still stay ahead in the post-semaglutide era.
A Pivotal Moment as Semaglutide Patents Near Expiry
Semaglutide, the blockbuster molecule powering Ozempic and Wegovy, is expected to face patent expirations between 2031 and 2032. That looming deadline has placed enormous pressure on Novo Nordisk to advance its next wave of obesity treatments.
According to Reuters, analysts perceive amycretin as one of Novo’s most important next-gen drugs, alongside the company’s dual-agonist program CagriSema. Amycretin’s profile targeting both GLP-1 and amylin has been widely viewed as the “best-in-class” candidate that could extend the company’s dominance well into the next decade.
BMO Capital’s Evan Seigerman told Reuters that while the amycretin results do not “completely change the narrative,” they are “a step in the right direction”.
Inside the Study: Strong Weight Loss and Glycemic Outcomes
The mid-stage study evaluated weekly injections and oral versions of amycretin in 448 people with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar was inadequately controlled on metformin, with or without an SGLT2 inhibitor.
What the data indicates:
- 14.5% weight loss with weekly injections
- 10.1% weight loss with the oral version
- Up to 89.1% of patients achieved HbA1c levels below 7%
- Side effects were mostly mild gastrointestinal issues.
The drug also led to statistically significant reductions in blood glucose, a key indicator of diabetes control. Novo says late-stage trials are scheduled to begin in 2026. Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange called amycretin’s performance a potential “breakthrough for people living with type 2 diabetes, obesity and related comorbidities” in a LinkedIn video cited by Reuters.
The New Weight-Loss Arms Race: Amycretin vs. Lilly’s Next-Gen Drugs
Competition in the weight-loss market is heating up fast. While Novo Nordisk is working to defend its lead, Eli Lilly has been surging ahead with aggressive innovation. Lilly’s amylin-based drug eloralintide delivered up to 20% weight loss in a mid-stage trial. The company’s dual agonist tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) is already outperforming Wegovy in multiple studies.
The race isn’t only about weight loss; it’s also about preserving lean muscle, improving metabolic function, and expanding into new therapeutic categories. Analysts believe that dual agonists such as amycretin and eloralintide may set a new standard by offering deeper metabolic benefits than single-pathway GLP-1 drugs.
The Bigger Picture: What’s at Stake for Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk’s challenge is twofold: defend its dominance after Wegovy’s historic rise, and build a post-semaglutide future as patents expire. Amycretin appears to be Novo’s strongest answer yet. The question now is whether the drug’s late-stage performance expected in 2026 will hold up against Lilly’s fast-moving pipeline.
For now, amycretin has given Novo something it desperately needed this week: momentum.
