Novo Nordisk announced plans to push forward its highly regarded new weight-loss drug, amycretin, into late-stage trials. The move, which was announced on June 12, 2025, is a major step towards the firm developing more effective weight management treatments and staying ahead in the cutthroat obesity market. The phase 3 program, which will compare both subcutaneous and oral versions of amycretin, will launch in the first quarter of 2026.
The move to phase 3 comes after encouraging results in previous trials and input from regulatory bodies. Amycretin, a dual GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist, has exhibited promising results in clinical trials. Weekly injections of amycretin saw participants lose 22% of their weight over a period of 36 weeks in a phase 1b/2a study. A pill version of the medication also recorded excellent results with a weight loss of 13.1% after 12 weeks of once-daily dosing.
This news follows Novo Nordisk’s growing competitive pressure from Eli Lilly‘s Zepbound, which reported better weight loss outcomes than Novo Nordisk’s existing blockbuster obesity medication, Wegovy, in a direct clinical trial. The development of amycretin indicates Novo Nordisk’s aggressiveness and intent to stay ahead in the fast-expanding obesity space.
The company’s earlier next-generation obesity product, CagriSema, did not hit its lofty 25% weight reduction goal in a phase 3 trial, and so the success of amycretin is all the more crucial for Novo Nordisk’s pipeline going forward.
Besides its internal research and development, Novo Nordisk has been aggressively strengthening its obesity pipeline by entering into strategic licensing deals with firms like United Laboratories, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Septerna, and Deep Apple Therapeutics. The partnerships are aimed at investigating new ways to address obesity and associated cardiometabolic conditions.
The subsequent phase 3 trials of amycretin will include adults who are overweight or obese and will further investigate the drug’s efficacy and safety. The successful approval and development of amycretin would make available a potent new tool for patients and physicians to use in the treatment of obesity.
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Graduated from the University of Kerala'20 with B.Sc. Botany & Biotechnology. Post-graduation in Biotechnology from the University of Kerala'22. Internship experience in Cancer Research.
