Drugs such as Ozempic (a brand name for semaglutide) are showing promise for weight loss. Another medication in the same class has impressed in a recent phase 2 clinical trial – and it only needs to be taken once a month.
It’s called MariTide (or maridebart cafraglutide, to use its full name), and based on tests involving 465 people classed as obese, the drug led to patients shedding 12.3 to 16.2 percent of their body weight over the course of a year. Those taking a placebo lost 2.5 percent.
For an additional 127 people with both obesity and type 2 diabetes, the average weight loss over the year was 8.4 to 12.3 percent of body weight, compared to 1.7 percent for those given placebo treatments.
According to the team behind the trial, from biopharmaceutical company Amgen and institutions across the US and Australia, the treatment shows potential as an alternative to drugs like Ozempic that need to be injected weekly. Monthly injections should make it easier for patients to stick to the agreed routine.
Related: One Weight Loss Strategy Is 5x More Effective Than Ozempic, Trials Show
“In this phase 2 trial, once-monthly maridebart cafraglutide resulted in substantial weight reduction in participants with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes,” write the researchers in their published paper.
Like similar drugs, MariTide acts as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which in simple terms means it targets the GLP-1 receptors in the brain and pancreas to reduce appetite and control blood sugar.
Unusually, it also targets glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors, which are also involved in managing insulin release, fat storage, metabolism, and appetite. This is part of the reason the drug needs to be administered less often.
“MariTide delivered strong efficacy, including sustained weight loss without a plateau in the 52-week phase 2 study and meaningful improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors, representing a defining advance for the obesity field,” says Jay Bradner, the executive vice president for research and development at Amgen.
The treatment wasn’t without its problems, however: almost everyone given MariTade experienced at least one negative side effect. Those side effects were primarily gastrointestinal problems, including vomiting and diarrhea.
These side effects were less severe when participants gradually built up to a full dose of maridebart cafraglutide, which may be the best way to get people started on it in the future.
Of course, there’s still work to be done yet: a phase 3 clinical trial is on the way, which will involve a much bigger group of participants over a longer time period.
The researchers behind the trial actually think MariTide could lead to even more weight loss, beyond a year of use. With global obesity rates only increasing right now, and all the health concerns that come attached, there’s an urgent need to find additional treatments for weight loss.
“A weight plateau was not reached at 52 weeks, with weight continuing a downward trajectory,” write the researchers. “Therefore, longer-term trials are needed to assess the full weight efficacy of this agent.”
The research has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
