An experimental weight-loss injection could emerge as a serious challenger to blockbuster treatments such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to new research.
In a clinical trial, the once-weekly drug ribupatide helped participants lose an average of 17.7 per cent of their body weight in 48 weeks—equivalent to nearly one-fifth.
Among patients receiving the highest dose, half lost more than 20 per cent of their starting weight. Participants taking the two largest doses were also still losing weight when the study ended.
Wegovy, which uses the active ingredient semaglutide, has been shown to produce an average weight loss of about 18.7 per cent after 72 weeks, or roughly 16 and a half months.
Mounjaro, made with tirzepatide, delivers an average reduction of around 22.5 per cent over the same 72-week period.
Although the treatments have not been tested head-to-head, the results indicate that ribupatide could become a potent rival to established weight-loss injections.
The findings arrive only months after phase three trials of the drug began recruiting patients in the UK.
Study results suggest the experimental weight-loss injection ribupatide could challenge popular drugs including Wegovy and Mounjaro
Like Mounjaro, ribupatide imitates the effects of two hormones involved in appetite regulation and blood sugar control.
By helping people feel full for longer, it can curb hunger and reduce the amount they eat.
For the latest study, published in JAMA, researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai enrolled 567 overweight or obese adults with an average age of 34.
Of these, 424 were randomly assigned to receive weekly ribupatide injections at doses of 2mg, 4mg or 6mg. The remaining 143 participants were given an inactive placebo.
After 48 weeks, people taking the 2mg dose had lost an average of 10.7 per cent of their body weight.
The average reduction rose to 16.4 per cent among those receiving 4mg and 17.7 per cent for the 6mg group.
By comparison, participants given the placebo lost just 1.4 per cent of their weight.
Some volunteers experienced substantially greater reductions.
At least one-fifth of their starting weight was lost by around 13.6 per cent of the 142 people taking 2mg, 37.1 per cent of the 141 receiving 4mg and 44.4 per cent of the 141 taking 6mg.
The researchers said the drug may not yet have reached its full effect.
‘Reductions in body weight at week 48 were 16.4 per cent and 17.7 per cent with ribupatide 4mg and 6mg, respectively, and weight loss had not clearly plateaued in either group,’ they wrote.
Weight loss often slows during treatment because a smaller body requires fewer calories to function.
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As with other weight-loss injections, which are used by about 2.5 million people in Britain, the most frequently reported side effects involved the stomach and digestive system.
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea affected roughly half of those taking the lowest dose and about two-thirds of participants on the highest dose.
Most of these side effects were mild or moderate, the researchers said.
The injection was also linked to improvements beyond weight reduction, including better blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol readings.
About 14 million adults in the UK have high blood pressure, a condition that can raise the risk of potentially fatal illnesses such as heart failure.
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels can help prevent type 2 diabetes, while lowering cholesterol can reduce the risk of stroke.
Systolic blood pressure—the upper figure in a blood pressure reading—fell by around seven to nine points more among ribupatide users than in the placebo group.
Triglycerides, blood fats that can contribute to serious health problems when levels are elevated, dropped by approximately 29 to 37 per cent more than they did with placebo.
Ribupatide also appeared to improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin, the hormone responsible for helping regulate blood sugar.
Insulin resistance fell by 30 per cent in the 2mg group, compared with 44 per cent among those taking 4mg and 46 per cent in the 6mg group.
Total cholesterol decreased by 6 per cent at 2mg, 9 per cent at 4mg and 8 per cent at 6mg.
Waist circumference also declined, a potentially important finding because it can indicate the amount of visceral fat stored deep within the abdomen around vital organs.
Participants taking ribupatide lost an average of about 9cm to 14cm from their waistlines, compared with 2.5cm among those given the placebo.
However, the researchers warned that the study had important limitations despite its promising results.
‘First, the 48-week treatment period may not have captured the full weight loss effect of ribupatide 4mg and 6mg,’ they wrote.
‘Second, participants were relatively young, and the efficacy and safety findings may not be generalisable to older adults with overweight or obesity.’
The results were published three months after trials began recruiting participants in Manchester, London, Nottingham and other UK cities.
Researchers plan to compare weekly ribupatide doses of up to 10mg with a placebo over 18 months in people both with and without diabetes.
A separate trial involving about 1,200 participants in the UK and several other countries is also comparing ribupatide directly with semaglutide.
