Ozempic and Wegovy's 6 new weight loss drug competitors

Novo Nordisk is credited with ushering in the weight loss drug revolution after the FDA approved its drug Wegovy in 2021. Before that, the firm’s diabetes medication Ozempic had become known for its slimming side effects. Unsatisfied with its own success, Novo Nordisk is developing an even more powerful weight loss drug. The company announced Mar. 7 at an investor event that its upcoming pill, called Amycretin, helped users lose an average of 13% of body weight after 12 weeks in an early-stage trial. For comparison, patients on Wegovy and Ozempic — both of which are injections — lose about 6% of their weight in 12 weeks.

Novo Nordisk rival Eli Lilly, known for its Zepbound and Mounjaro medications, is also developing a new weight loss drug. Early trials of the company’s oral drug, Orforglipron, found that it helped users lose an average of nearly 15% of weight after 36 weeks.

San Diego-based Viking Therapeutics announced promising results for its new weight loss drug in February. In a release, Viking said that users achieved an average weight loss of 14% from baseline numbers, plus 13% compared with a placebo, after 13 weeks of treatment.

The Denmark-based Zealand Pharma is developing the drug survodutide with the privately held German pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim. The two companies announced in February that their phase-two trial found that 83% of patients on the treatment saw significant improvements to a liver condition known as MASH. Survodutide is also currently going through a phase-three clinical trial for treating obesity. Previous trials demonstrated that it helped users lose nearly 15% of their weight in 46 weeks.

Early trials of Amgen’s MariTide, also known as AMG 133, show that it could reduce body weight by up to 15% after 85 days with just a monthly dose. In contrast, Wegovy and Zepbound currently require weekly doses.

In December, Switzerland-based Roche acquired weight loss drug developer Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion. Carmot’s leading weight loss drug candidate, CT-388, was shown to help users lose about 17 pounds after four weeks in a small early-stage trial.

In an earnings call in January, Regeneron’s chief scientific officer George Yancopoulos told investors that the firm is looking at genetics for insights into to developing new weight loss drugs. The company previously identified a rare gene that protects agains obesity. In addition, Regeneron will begin trials this year for antibody treatments that can help users of drugs like Wegovy to preserve and build muscle. One side effect of Wegovy is muscle loss.