Saima Sidik in Nature:
Two new drugs for treating obesity are on course to become available in the next few years — and they offer advantages beyond those of the highly effective blockbuster drugs already on the market. The first, called orforglipron, is easier to use and to produce, and it will probably be cheaper than existing treatments. The second, retatrutide, has an unprecedented level of efficacy, and could raise the bar for pharmacological obesity treatment. “They’re both breakthroughs,” says endocrinologist Daniel Drucker at the University of Toronto in Canada, who was not involved in the recent research on either drug. Results from phase II clinical trials of both drugs were announced at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association this month and in the New England Journal of Medicine1,2. Phase II trials provide data on a drug’s efficacy and ideal dosage in a small group of participants.
Acting on appetite
Orforglipron and retatrutide both mimic hormones produced by the lining of the gut in response to certain nutrients. These hormones help to slow the passage of food through the digestive tract and lower appetite by acting on receptors in the brain — both effects that reduce people’s desire to eat and help them to lose weight.
More here.