Must take Ozempic or other heavy drugs can be a real pain in the ass, with users often having to cling once a week. In recently released clinical test data, Amgen’s ever-monthly experimental drug-maritide performed as well as or even better than the existing blockbuster GLP-1 medication semaglutids and tirzepatid.
People taking Maritid have consistently lost more weight than those on placebo, some lose up to 20% of their bass weight for one year. Amgen advances to phase III trials of Maritid, setting the stage for fierce competition between the next generation of obese drugs. Amgen presented the full results of his phase II test of Maritid this week at the annual meeting of the US Diabet Association; The results were also issued in the New -nglian magazine on medicine.
As a semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Tirzepatido (Zepbound and Mounar) before it, Maritid Mimics GLP-1, a hormone important to regulate our hunger and blood sugar. But the injectable medication has some new tricks in its sleeve. The drug additionally carries a molecule that is aimed at GIP, another major hunger hormone. Interestingly enough, Tirzepatido mimics GIP, but Maritide prevents it (this suggests that GIP’s role in controlling our weight is very complicated). The experimental drug also contains a laboratory antiple designed to continue it in our system for a long time, so it aims to be taken monthly or once every second month, compared to the weekly shots needed for semaglutide and tirzepatid.
The phase II trial involved nearly 600 adults, some of which had a type 2 diabetes and others with only obesity. In those with obesity only, people lost up to 20% of their weight on average for a 52-week duration (those on placebo lost an average of 2.6% body weight). People with Type 2 diabetes lost on average up to 17% of their weight. These results, though not directly comparable at this point, are the same as the clinical test data of the latest GLP-1 drugs. And as participants continued to pour pounds before the end of the study, it is possible that the typical weight loss seen with maritide could be even higher.
“Maritid has delivered strong efficiency, including ongoing weight loss without a plateau in the 52-week phase 2 study and significant improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors, representing a definite advance for the obese field,” said Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen, in Amgen, in Amgen, Statement of the company.
However, not everything with maritide is sunshine and puppies. The vomiting rates were much higher among some groups of people on Maritid, for example, which probably contributed to a higher rate of people dropping by the end of the study. But some data also suggests that this side effect may be decreased by gradually growing the doses of people over time, much as existing GLP-1 drugs are managed.
Amgen will fully test this staggered dose strategy in its phase III 72-week-long trial of maritide for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, which has already begun a registration. The company also plans to launch phase III tests for cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and heart failure. But it is far from alone in the weapon race to develop more efficient or practical obese treatments. Dozens of other candidates are in the pipeline, each with their own possible benefits of today’s drugs, such as being available by pill or come without the gastrointestinal side effects common to GLP-1S.
Not all of these experimental drugs will work, of course, but it seems likely that Semaglutid and Tirzepatid will soon not be the only possibilities for people with obesity.
