New weight loss drug better than Ozempic, without causing nausea?

Better than

Ozempic

? Yes, you read it right. Scientists at the

University of Copenhagen

have developed a

new weight loss drug

, which would also boost calorie burning, without causing nausea.
Zach Gerhart-Hines, from the

Novo Nordisk

Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen said that while GLP-1-based therapies have revolutionized patient care for obesity and Type 2 diabetes, safely harnessing energy expenditure and controlling appetite without nausea remain two holy grails in this field.
Ozempic mimics the weight-loss effects of the GLP-1 hormone that the body naturally produces after eating, suppressing appetite and stimulating weight loss. However, nausea has been a common side effect of the drug.

The University of Copenhagen scientists, funded by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, studied 380 different G protein-coupled receptors, which receive signals from hormones and other stimuli to activate proteins, triggering a cellular reaction in the body, and ranked them based on their association with HbA1c, a major indicator of blood sugar regulation and diabetes progression. They identified the neurokinin 2 receptor (NK2R), previously studied for its role in the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system but not yet linked to metabolic health. The scientists think they may have found a solution in the neurokinin 2 receptor (NK2R) after discovering its genetic connections to obesity and blood sugar regulation.

The researchers at the University of Copenhagen stated that scientists have struggled to effectively target the NK2R signaling pathway because its natural activator degrades quickly in the body and can bind to receptors other than NK2R, making it challenging to develop targeted drugs. To tackle this, researchers engineered selective, long-acting NK2R agonists and found that they increased calorie burning and also reduced appetite in mice without causing any signs of nausea. Testing in obese diabetic macaques also showed promising results, including reducing body weight, blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol while improving insulin sensitivity.
Study author Frederike Sass noted that one of the biggest hurdles in drug development is translation between mice and humans, and that is why they were excited that the benefits of NK2R agonism translated to diabetic and obese nonhuman primates, which represents a big step towards clinical translation.
This experimental drug which can be taken once weekly as an injection, certainly has a long way to go before reaching the consumers’ hands. Gerhart-Hines told The Post that his team plans to start clinical trials within the next year, and it would likely take five or six years before the drug will be available to the public.

The study published on Wednesday in Nature revealed that about 12% of US adults have used a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic or Mounjaro. Physicians are concerned that an estimated 50% to 75% of people who begin using GLP-1 drugs discontinue them within a year, citing costs and side effects, like nausea. Others discontinue after reaching their weight loss goals, though weight regain is common once the medication is stopped.