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(Reuters) -Novo Nordisk said on Thursday it plans to start late-stage trials of its experimental weight-loss drug, amycretin, in injection and oral forms during the first quarter of 2026 for adults who are overweight or obese.
The decision to advance the trials is based on feedback received from regulatory authorities in interactions following the end of its mid-stage trials, the company said.
Amycretin, the Danish drugmaker’s next-generation obesity drug, has a dual-mode action. Like its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, amycretin not only mimics the gut hormone GLP-1, but also the effect of a hunger-suppressing pancreatic hormone called amylin.
Weekly injections of the drug helped patients lose 22% of their weight in 36 weeks, according to early-stage trial results published in January.
Last year, the pill version helped patients lose up to 13.1% of their weight after 12 weeks in early-stage trial.
Novo is also developing another two-drug combination, known as CagriSema, which, too, targets the amylin hormone.
The company has launched a new late-stage trial for the drug, the U.S. government’s trial database showed this week, as it tries to reassure the market of its potential after disappointing data from two previous studies.
Novo had positioned CagriSema as a more potent successor to its blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy, but lower-than-expected weight loss stoked worries that Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) may be gaining an edge over the company in the market for such drugs.