Weight-loss drugs have become a hot topic as public health officials and pharmaceutical companies seek solutions to the growing global obesity epidemic.
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A oral drug prepared by Pfizer causes similar weight loss as the competing product and acts faster than this Novo NordiskOzempic is the blockbuster injection, according to results of a phase 2 clinical trial published on Monday.
The results were presented at a medical conference late last year. But JAMA network The full peer-reviewed study is only now being published.
Pfizer’s study followed 411 adults with type 2 diabetes who were either taking the company’s pill or Danugliprontwice a day or a placebo.
The study found that patients taking a 120-milligram version of Danuglipron lost about 10 pounds over the course of 16 weeks.
This compares to a phase III clinical trial of Ozempic, which found that adults taking a 1-milligram version of the injection lost an average of about 9.9 pounds over a 30-week period. Patients take this shot once a week.
The results suggest that Danuglipron may be as effective for weight as Ozempic over a shorter period of time.
Pfizer’s drug could also offer an advantage over frequent injections as an oral treatment option.
Both Danuglipron and Ozempic belong to a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 antagonists.
They mimic a hormone produced in the gut called GLP-1, which signals the brain when a person is full.
The drugs can also help people treat type 2 diabetes because they stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas, thereby lowering blood sugar levels.
New York-based Pfizer is the latest pharmaceutical company to enter the blockbuster weight-loss drug market.
Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy have been in the national limelight in recent years as “miracles” for weight loss.
Hollywood stars, social media influencers and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk They reportedly used the popular injections to shed unwanted weight.
But experts say The drugs may further perpetuate a dangerous diet culture that idealizes weight loss and thinness.
Some patients who stop taking the medication also complain of weight gain that is difficult to control.
According to this, more than two out of five adults suffer from obesity National Health Institute. About one in eleven adults suffers from severe obesity.
