What is Ozempic 2.0? Will it be a gamechanger for weight loss? Here’s all you need to know

With the growth of the weight loss drug market, the companies that produce Ozempic and Mounjaro are reportedly planning to launch a new weight loss drug that could be a game changer in the process.

The new drug will not need injections and can be ‘taken once a day without food or water restrictions’.

Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have developed oral versions. Although the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved it, the first oral drug could get the green light soon.

Novo Nordisk’s obesity pill is expected to be the first to be approved, according to NPR, and it contains the same ingredient semaglutide found in Wegovy and Ozempic.

Ladbible reports that the GLP-1 drug is aimed at adults with Type-2 diabetes, while weight loss drug Mounjaro can be prescribed through the NHS.

Eli Lilly said preliminary initial testing showed it “reduced weight by an average of 10.5 percent (22.9 lbs) compared to 2.2 percent (5.1 lbs) with placebo,” Ladbible reported.

For many patients, this may be the essential drug they need to control obesity as well as Type 2 diabetes, Eli Lilly Chief Scientific Officer Dan Skovronsky said.

Quoting Andrea Traina, Novo Nordisk’s director of obesity, the report states that if you think about dropping an Alka-Seltzer tablet into a glass of water, the instant fizzing reaction occurs in your stomach. It creates this little foamy environment directly around the tablet.”

The foam prevents the stomach enzyme from breaking down the tablet, slightly reducing the acidity of the stomach.

In a study published in September in the New England Journal of Medicine, people taking oral semaglutide experienced an average weight loss of 16.6% over 64 weeks, compared with 2.7% in those taking a placebo.

“Data for oral semaglutide 25 mg demonstrate convincing efficacy for an oral weight management drug, with 16.6% weight loss and a safety and tolerability profile consistent with the injectable Wegovy®,” said Martin Holst Lange, vice president and chief scientific officer of Novo Nordisk Research and Development.

Announcing the safety and effectiveness of Orforgliprone in September, Eli Lily said that three doses of orforgliprone (6 mg, 12 mg and 36 mg) at 72 weeks met the primary endpoint of superior body weight reduction compared to placebo.

Principal investigator Sean Wharton, MD, director of the Wharton Medical Clinic, noted that “obesity is a complex, global health problem, and patients need treatment options that are both effective and easy to integrate into daily life.”

Earlier this week, the Danish drugmaker said Alzheimer’s patients taking the drug did not see their disease progress more slowly, based on cognitive assessment.

Novo will terminate the planned one-year extension of the works.