Amycretin is one of Novo Nordisk's most closely watched pipeline candidates: an experimental peptide that activates both the GLP-1 receptor and the amylin receptor in a single molecule, rather than targeting GLP-1 alone the way semaglutide does. It's being developed in two forms, a once-weekly injection and a once-daily pill, and Novo Nordisk has moved both into Phase 3 testing for weight management.
How It Works
Amycretin's defining feature is that it combines two mechanisms already used separately in approved or late-stage obesity drugs. GLP-1 receptor activity, the mechanism behind semaglutide and liraglutide, slows gastric emptying and reduces appetite through effects on the brain and gut. Amylin receptor activity, the mechanism behind cagrilintide and pramlintide, works through a related but distinct satiety-signaling pathway. Combining both in one molecule is a similar strategic bet to Novo's cagrilintide/semaglutide combination CagriSema, but amycretin achieves it as a single dual-agonist peptide rather than a co-formulation of two separate drugs.
What the Early Data Show
In early-stage human trials, the subcutaneous (injectable) formulation produced average weight loss of about 22% at the highest tested dose over 36 weeks, compared with a roughly 2% gain in the placebo group. Lower doses produced smaller effects, in the range of 10% to 16% weight loss over 20 to 28 weeks. The oral formulation, tested in a first-in-human trial, produced weight loss of roughly 10% to 13% over just 12 weeks at its highest doses. Gastrointestinal side effects, mainly nausea and related symptoms, were the most common adverse events and were generally described as mild to moderate, a pattern consistent with other GLP-1-based therapies.
Where It Stands Today
These are Phase 1b/2a results, meaning they come from small, relatively short trials designed primarily to establish safety and dose-response rather than to confirm long-term efficacy in a broad population. Novo Nordisk has since advanced both the injectable and oral formulations into Phase 3 trials for adults with overweight or obesity, but Phase 3 data, the kind needed to support an FDA submission, has not yet been reported. Amycretin is not FDA-approved for any use and remains an investigational compound.
Why It Matters
If amycretin's early results hold up in larger, longer Phase 3 trials, it would represent one of the more potent dual-mechanism candidates in the crowded obesity drug pipeline, competing directly with Eli Lilly's retatrutide and Novo's own CagriSema for the next generation of weight-loss therapies. Until then, its results should be read as promising signals from small studies, not a preview of what a future approved drug's real-world effect size will be.
Talk to Your Doctor
As an investigational compound, amycretin isn't available by prescription, and no legitimate path to obtaining it exists outside of an enrolled clinical trial. Anyone interested in the current generation of GLP-1 or amylin-based weight-loss medications should discuss FDA-approved options with a physician.