New drug CagriSema leads to 14% weight loss in trial

• A brand new 68-week trial discovered that weekly injections with CagriSema resulted in weight lack of as much as 14.2% in contrast with 10.2% for semaglutide (Wegovy).
• CagriSema additionally decreased HbA1C scores on common by 1.91%-points in contrast with 1.76%-points for semaglutide.
• This new drug is a fixed-dose mixture of semaglutide and cagrilintide, an amylin receptor agonist.

GLP-1 medicines have obtained numerous publicity due partly to their use in treating weight problems, although their preliminary use was for treating kind 2 diabetes.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 can:

• stimulate insulin secretion round meal occasions
• lower the secretion of glucagon, a hormone that raises blood sugar ranges
• lower how shortly the abdomen empties, slowing digestion and the rise of blood sugar after consuming
• create a sensation of abdomen fullness that may scale back urge for food and meals consumption.

These results could make a distinction for some folks with type 2 diabetes or weight problems who’ve discovered that different medical or lifestyle-based remedies haven’t helped.

It’s manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical firm behind a latest trial assessing the potential of a next-generation drug, CagriSema.

CagriSema combines semaglutide with one other drug referred to as cagrilintide, an amylin receptor agonist. This mimics the results of the hormone amylin and also can decelerate abdomen emptying, lower glucagon secretion after meals, and management urge for food.

Novo Nordisk are at present working two analysis programmes to research using CagriSema within the remedy of kind 2 diabetes and obese and weight problems.

Not too long ago, the corporate has announced the most recent outcomes from the REIMAGINE 2 scientific trial for adults with kind 2 diabetes investigating the effectiveness of CagriSema. Their findings haven’t but appeared in a peer-reviewed journal.

The REIMAGINE 2 trial ran for 68 weeks and concerned a complete of two,728 individuals with kind 2 diabetes that was not adequately managed by metformin.

Round 40% of the individuals had been additionally utilizing an SLG2 inhibitor earlier than the trial started. SLG2 inhibitors are a kind of treatment that causes the physique to expel extra glucose from the bloodstream into an individual’s urine.

Individuals obtained weekly doses of one of many following:

• CagriSema 2.4/2.4 milligrams (mg), that means 2.4 mg of cagrilintide and a couple of.4 mg of semaglutide
• CagriSema 1 / 1 mg, or 1 mg of cagrilintide and 1 mg of semaglutide
• 2.4 mg of semaglutide
• 1 mg of semaglutide
• 2.4 mg of cagrilintide
• a placebo.

“As CagriSema is a hard and fast dose mixture, it’s a regulatory requirement to display that the mixture is protected and efficient for the goal inhabitants and supplies additional benefit over the person elements,” a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk defined for Medical Information Right now.

“CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg was subsequently in contrast towards the person elements: semaglutide 2.4 mg and cagrilintide 2.4 mg, respectively,” the spokesperson detailed.

Earlier than starting, the researchers measured the individuals’ physique weight and HbA1C results, a mean blood sugar degree to mirror the earlier 2–3 months.

The imply baseline physique weight was 101 kilograms (kg) and the imply baseline HbA1C rating was 8.2%.

The researchers discovered that after 68 weeks, if individuals adhered to their remedy plan, the group taking CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg had larger common adjustments of their physique weight and HbA1C outcomes than the group that simply took 2.4 mg of semaglutide.

Particularly, the CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg group had a mean HbA1C discount of 1.91%-points and weight lack of 14.2%, in contrast with the semaglutide 2.4 mg group’s common reductions of 1.76%-points and 10.2%, respectively.

When not full adherence to remedy plans, the researchers reported comparable outcomes.

Right here, the CagriSema 2.4/2.4 mg group had a mean HbA1C discount of 1.80%-points and physique weight discount of 12.9%. For the semaglutide group, these averages had been 1.68%-points and 9.2% respectively.

“By combining semaglutide and cagrilintide, we’re seeing superior outcomes in each blood glucose management and weight discount past these achieved with every remedy individually,” mentioned Martin Holst Lange, government vice chairman, chief scientific officer, and head of Analysis and Improvement at Novo Nordisk within the firm’s official announcement.

“The outcomes strengthen our perception that CagriSema might be the primary amylin-based mixture remedy and a promising remedy choice for people with kind 2 diabetes, [which] additionally has a deal with weight reduction,” mentioned Holst Lange.

Novo Nordisk expects to current the complete outcomes of the trial at a scientific convention later this yr.

MNT spoke to Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Middle at Orange Coast Medical Middle in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not concerned with the examine, about its findings.

“This trial signifies that there are extra medicine on the horizon and extra treatment choices will likely be obtainable to sufferers,” Ali mentioned.

“The factor to concentrate on is that these are very early outcomes achieved by the producer,“ he cautioned. “It can require scientific trials by impartial entities to delineate the true effectiveness and facet impact profile of this and all new medicines.”

Following the outcomes of earlier trials, Novo Nordisk submitted a New Drug Utility to the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2025 for using CagriSema to help and preserve weight reduction alongside food regimen and train changes.

Ought to it obtain approval, this software would set the drug up for use in the identical instances as Wegovy.

Within the meantime, Novo Nordisk has additional trials ongoing for CagriSema. In addition to additional testing for kind 2 diabetes, obese, and weight problems, they can even be seeing how its effectiveness and security evaluate with tirzepatide (model names Mounjaro, Zepbound).

“I believe a greater comparability could be this new treatment versus tirzepatide,” Ali mentioned to MNT. “[Tirzepatide] works on two hormone receptors and has been proven in scientific trials to be simpler than semaglutide.”

This comparability might have lots driving on it provided that tirzepatide is a drug manufactured by competitor Eli Lilly and Firm.

Ali added that it was necessary to maintain some perspective when wanting on the outcomes of this trial:

“The factor that individuals contemplating these medicines ought to consider is that these are instruments to assist change to a more healthy food regimen and life-style. Research additionally present that stopping these medicines usually leads to important weight acquire, so long-term remedy is probably going essential.”