While popular obesity and type 2 diabetes medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have continued to grow in demand and usage across the U.S., there may be a new type on the horizon.
Ozempic and Wegovy are semaglutide-based, meaning the active ingredient in these medications is the peptide semaglutide, which mimics the body’s GLP-1 hormone. Recently, a different drug, ecnoglutide, with an active ingredient of the peptide ecnoglutide, has been utilized in trials for weight loss. Its recent and successful Phase 3 trial shows it may be more successful than its semaglutide-based counterparts.
This trial, completed by researchers in China, shows that ecnoglutide may be more effective than dulaglutide, which is another GLP-1 medication. While both drugs are successful at boosting insulin production, decreasing appetite, and slowing digestion, ecnoglutide specifically works to activate the source of GLP-1 benefits: the cellular signaling cAMP pathway. Other drugs, like those that are semaglutide- and dulaglutide-based, don’t do the same.
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“These results suggest that ecnoglutide might offer a new treatment option for type 2 diabetes,” wrote the researchers.
This study involved 621 participants between the ages of 18 and 76 who received either enoglutide or dulaglutide once a week for a year. Each subject was already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and was taking the type 2 diabetes medication metformin.
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In the results, both medications had a similar effect in lowering blood sugar levels. However, the participants taking ecnoglutide lost nearly twice the amount of weight as those taking dulaglutide. A few experienced minor side effects like diarrhea and nausea.
“Apart from glycaemic effects, both doses of ecnoglutide induced statistically significantly greater reductions in bodyweight, waist circumference, hip circumference, and triglycerides, all of which are cardiovascular risk factors, than dulaglutide,” the report stated.
Not only was ecnoglutide more effective at weight loss, but the researchers say the drug itself may be more affordable to make than the popular GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Looking forward, the researchers aim to compare ecnoglutide to semaglutide in larger-scale studies to see if the former medication is more successful than the latter. Ideally, these future trials would include a larger and more diverse population. In 2024, just about four percent of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs for obesity and type 2 diabetes treatment.
“These results suggest that ecnoglutide might help to address certain unmet needs in type 2 diabetes management and represent a potential advance in diabetes therapy,” the report stated.
