Obesity management medications have become a very popular new treatment option in the worldwide fight against obesity. Since the launch of treatments like Wegovy and Mounjaro, many new weight loss medications have been developed and are making their way to the market.

One of the latest of these is Novo Nordisk’s Amycretin, a dual-agonist treatment. It works on multiple receptors in your body, offering an enhanced effect over other incretin-based therapies (such as GLP-1 drugs).

What is Amycretin?

After the development of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk began researching multiple new avenues for weight loss medications. Amycretin was one of the first to show promise as a weight loss treatment. Much like Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, Amycretin is a dual-target weight loss treatment. By affecting multiple receptors in your body, it can offer an enhanced result.

Its potential as a diabetes treatment has also been investigated. Much like other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications, Amycretin should allow patients with type 2 diabetes to better control their blood sugar levels.

Unlike other GLP-1 medications, Amycretin has been tested as both a weekly injection and as an daily oral pill from the early stages of clinical development. By combining Amycretin with SNAC (an absorption enhancer), the drug can be used orally without being digested too quickly.

How Does Amycretin Work?

Amycretin is an amylin agonist and GLP-1 receptor agonist. This means that it fills the same roles as these gut hormones; reducing hunger and slowing digestion.

Amycretin is a unimolecular treatment; it reacts strongly with both the GLP-1 and amylin receptors in your body. Amylin receptors are responsible for digestion and associated processes. Amycretin, as a dual receptor agonist, benefits from multiple pathways to weight loss, meaning it may produce stronger effects than other treatments.

What are the Clinical Trial Results?

Amycretin has passed Phase 2 clinical trials. 

These first two trials focus on the appropriate dosage and safety concerns around adverse events (side effects and interactions with other health conditions, etc). In both trials, a placebo group was used to make sure the results were significant.

Phase 1 was conducted over 12 weeks, allowing the drug to be tested for safety and tolerability. This first phase focused on the daily oral pill, and on average patients experienced 10% reduced body weight (or 13% when taking a double dose). Phase 2 started to look at the results around the injection variation.

The results have been promising; in the Phase 2 trials of the injection, patients were observed over 36 weeks, where the highest dose of 60mg produced a weight reduction of up to 24% in patients who were overweight or obese.

The next step, Phase 3, will focus on the obesity treatment potential. In particular, these trials will help establish the long-term safety profile of the medication. Comprehensive Phase III trials are planned to begin in early 2026. This may be affected by the full results of the Phase 2 trials. 

What are Amycretin’s Side Effects?

Currently, we do not have a full list of Amycretin’s potential side effects. Clinical information suggests they will be similar to other weight loss medications. Like other GLP-1 medications, Amycretin’s gastrointestinal side effects may include:

  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhoea

Systemic side effects may include:

  • Issues with low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia)
  • Pancreatitis
  • Mild to moderate injection site reactions (for the weekly subcutaneous injection)

This is not an exhaustive list, and is partially based on the effects of other GLP-1 medications. It is likely both oral Amycretin and the injection form will share a lot of the same effects, though there may be some differences depending on the preparations used.

How Much Will Amycretin Cost?

Currently, we have no hints as to how much Amycretin will cost. We expect it to be in line with other weight loss medications, though as a newer and more effective treatment, prices may start higher than other treatments.

Key Takeaways

  • Amycretin is a newly developed weight management treatment from the same manufacturers as Wegovy.
  • The weight loss effects are enhanced because it interacts with two separate hormone receptors in the body.
  • Amycretin has passed the first two phases of clinical trials; the third phase will begin shortly.

References 

Jastreboff AM, et al. Amycretin poster presentation, ADA 2025. Available at: https://sciencehub.novonordisk.com/content/dam/sciencehub/global/en/congresses-and-scientific-publications/congresses/ada2025/Jastreboff/documents/SNCD2503_amycretin_poster.pdf

Novo Nordisk (2024). R&D pipeline. [online] www.novonordisk.com. Available at: https://www.novonordisk.com/science-and-technology/r-d-pipeline.html 

ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT05369390 – Phase I Oral Amycretin Trial. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05369390

ICH GCP. NCT06064006 – Subcutaneous Amycretin Study. Available at: https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT06064006

Dahl, K., Toubro, S., Dey, S., Duque do Vale, R., Flint, A., Gasiorek, A., Heydorn, A., Jastreboff, A.M., Key, C., Petersen, S.B., Vegge, A. and Adelborg, K. (2025). Amycretin, a novel, unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist administered subcutaneously: results from a phase 1b/2a randomised controlled study. The Lancet. [online] doi: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS01406736(25)011857/fulltext

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022). Type 2 diabetes. [online] NICE. Available at: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/type-2-diabetes/

PR Newswire. Novo Nordisk Advances Amycretin to Phase III. Available at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/novo-nordisk-advances-early-stage-obesity-medication-amycretin-to-phase-3-clinical-development-based-on-early-phase-clinical-trial-results-in-people-with-obesity-or-excess-weight-published-in-the-lancet-302487500.html

Authorship

Ian Coakley, Content Writer

Authored by Ian Coakley

Medical Content Writer

Ian is a content writer at Simple Online Pharmacy. With a background in science communication, editing, and freelance writing, Ian aims to empower readers with accessible health information.

Richard Wood, Pharmacist

Medically Reviewed by Richard Wood

Pharmacist / Clinical Specialist
GPhC reg: 2078802
Richard is a pharmacist and content reviewer at Simple Online Pharmacy. He officially joined the team in 2024 after several years of working with the company as a contractor. Prior to that, he spent over 11 years as a community pharmacist, building a strong foundation in patient care.