This content material initially appeared on On a regular basis Well being. Republished with permission.
By Ross Wollen
Key Takeaways
- In medical trials, the drug pemvidutide helped topics drop greater than 15 p.c of their physique weight, with much less muscle loss than rival GLP-1 medicine.
- Pemvidutide additionally lowered ldl cholesterol, however didn’t have an effect on blood sugar ranges.
- The treatment will progress to late-stage trials, the final step earlier than its maker seeks FDA approval.
A drugs now in medical trials is sparking curiosity as a result of it could actually trigger important weight reduction whereas minimizing lack of lean muscle — one thing its opponents don’t do fairly as properly. Researchers shared outcomes from a section 2 trial this week on the American Diabetes Affiliation’s annual scientific convention.
Pemvidutide, manufactured by an organization known as Altimmune, belongs to a class of weight reduction treatment that features semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). These medicine mimic the exercise of a hormone known as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) that’s launched within the intestine after consuming. By stimulating insulin manufacturing and triggering emotions of satiety within the mind, GLP-1 medicines decrease blood sugar ranges and curb urge for food.
Not like different GLP-1 medicine, pemvidutide additionally mimics the hormone glucagon, which instructs the liver to launch saved sugar into the bloodstream.
How Nicely Does Pemvidutide Work?
The trial evaluated pemvidutide’s effectiveness in additional than 200 adults with out diabetes who have been chubby or had weight problems. After 48 weeks of remedy, topics on the highest dose of pemvidutide misplaced a median of 15.6 p.c of their physique weight, and appeared to nonetheless be shedding pounds even because the analysis wrapped up. In addition they noticed important reductions in blood lipid ranges, together with triglycerides and whole ldl cholesterol.
Contributors skilled no modifications in fasting blood sugar or A1C. That makes pemvidutide completely different from semaglutide and tirzepatide, which have been initially developed to deal with sort 2 diabetes.
“It’s the glucagon element,” defined Louis Aronne, MD, on the convention; he’s a professor at Weill Cornell Medication in New York Metropolis and the trial’s principal investigator. “Glucagon, by making the liver make glucose, raises blood sugar. The GLP-1 reduces sugar.” The 2 hormones seem to cancel one another out.
Dr. Aronne famous that pemvidutide “might have necessary results on the standard of weight reduction,” in addition to on the numerous well being dangers related to weight problems.
Pemvidutide Helps Protect Muscle Throughout Weight Loss
All weight reduction entails sacrificing some lean mass, primarily muscle. However some consultants have raised alarms that semaglutide and different medicine within the GLP-1 class are inflicting an excessive amount of muscle loss, which may impair an individual’s means to operate in day by day life and even (in a worst-case state of affairs) result in critical frailty.
“As the main target shifts to long-term weight administration, the preservation of lean mass will probably be vital for affected person care,” Aronne mentioned.
There may be solely a small quantity of information on the physique composition of members in important GLP-1 trials, however that proof has raised some purple flags. Two small analyses, for instance, discovered about that about 40 p.c of weight reduction on semaglutide got here from the lack of lean mass.[1][2] Aronne acknowledged that typical weight reduction interventions usually incur about 25 p.c loss from lean mass.
The pemvidutide trial, against this, discovered that solely 21.9 p.c of weight reduction got here from lean mass. Aronne mentioned that researchers didn’t but perceive why pemvidutide has this distinctive impact on physique composition.
Weight problems consultants are nonetheless debating about these claims of extreme muscle loss, with some saying that the priority isn’t supported by information.[3] However GLP-1 producers look like taking the problem very critically, and are investing closely in remedies that might restrict the lack of lean mass.[4]
Within the meantime, medical doctors and nutritionists broadly advocate that individuals utilizing weight reduction medicine take care to train and eat sufficient protein, each of which can assist protect muscle.
Pemvidutide Would possibly Assist Deal with Liver Illness
Along with weight problems, pemvidutide may someday be used to deal with metabolic dysfunction–related steatohepatitis, a liver situation often known as MASLD. The illness, which is normally asymptomatic, is outlined by a excessive focus of fats throughout the liver (it was beforehand known as nonalcoholic fatty liver illness, or NAFLD).
In some sufferers with MASLD, the liver’s accumulation of fats will progress to a extreme and harmful state named MASH. Extra trials are deliberate to handle pemvidutide’s means to deal with liver illness.
What Are the Aspect Results of Pemvidutide?
As with different GLP-1 medicine, folks within the pemvidutide trial skilled a excessive price of gastrointestinal negative effects, comparable to nausea and vomiting.
Pemvidutide was examined in three completely different dosages, two of which didn’t require titration (progressively rising the dosage), although Aronne prompt that the producer might select to revisit the dosing particulars sooner or later to be able to reduce negative effects.
