A new weight loss drug, known as ecnoglutide, has demonstrated superior results compared to existing treatments in a recent clinical trial. Conducted by researchers from China, the study revealed that ecnoglutide outperformed dulaglutide, another glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, in terms of weight loss among participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Ecnoglutide is part of a class of medications similar to those marketed under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, which have shown considerable effectiveness in managing both type 2 diabetes and obesity. Both ecnoglutide and semaglutide work by mimicking the body’s natural GLP-1 hormone, enhancing insulin production, curbing appetite, and slowing digestion to help regulate blood sugar levels.
Clinical Trial Findings
The phase 3 trial involved 621 participants aged between 18 and 75, all of whom were already on the first-line diabetes medication metformin. Participants were assigned to receive either ecnoglutide or dulaglutide once a week over the span of a year. While both treatments effectively reduced blood sugar levels, those on ecnoglutide achieved an average weight loss nearly double that of their dulaglutide counterparts.
The researchers noted that ecnoglutide’s unique design focuses on activating the cAMP pathway, which is crucial for the drug’s beneficial effects, while minimizing interaction with other pathways. This specificity may give ecnoglutide an advantage over current treatments, as existing options, including dulaglutide, do not target the cAMP pathway as directly.
Potential Benefits and Future Research
The findings indicate that ecnoglutide could emerge as a more effective treatment option for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the researchers highlighted that ecnoglutide may be simpler and less costly to manufacture compared to other GLP-1 medications currently available in the market.
Side effects reported during the trial primarily included nausea and diarrhea, which tended to diminish over time. The study authors stated, “Apart from glycaemic effects, both doses of ecnoglutide induced statistically significantly greater reductions in body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, and triglycerides, all of which are cardiovascular risk factors, than dulaglutide.”
Future research is anticipated to involve direct comparisons between ecnoglutide and semaglutide, as well as larger and more diverse participant groups. Additional trials may also explore the drug’s efficacy when combined with other anti-diabetic medications.
As interest in GLP-1 agonists continues to grow, so does scrutiny over their long-term effects, including potential complications such as pancreatic issues and vision problems. Nevertheless, the success of medications like Wegovy has prompted pharmaceutical companies to seek improved versions of existing treatments.
The research findings have been published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, with the authors concluding, “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.”
