A team of scientists working on a new drug reckon they've managed to develop one that does four things at once and is more effective than Mounjaro at weight loss.
Weight loss jabs have exploded in popularity as many people have been trying them, while you can even get prescribed Mounjaro and Wegovy on the NHS for weight loss these days.
Since obesity is one of the driving factors in a plethora of health issues, there are many positive impacts which these drugs could accomplish.
A team at Tufts University, Massachusetts, think they've taken weight loss drugs one step further to create a 'quadruple-action' drug which targets four hormone receptors.
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The scientists think that the new drug they're working on could result in weight loss of up to 30 per cent, which would put it on par with bariatric surgery.
Here's the science-y bit: when you take a weight loss jab, it targets the GLP-1 receptor, which helps tell your body you're full and don't need to eat any more, with the idea being you cut down on your food intake and slim down as a result.
This is what Wegovy does, while Ozempic does similar, but it is not prescribed for weight loss as it is for type 2 diabetes.
Mounjaro goes in for a double whammy as it also targets the GIP receptor, which also makes you feel full.
Drugs are being tested that also target glucagon, which increases your blood glucose but also raises energy use in your body and suppresses your appetite, which is called Retatrutide. It is currently undergoing trials, which suggest it can achieve 24 per cent weight loss in 48 weeks.
That's all well and good, but this new drug in development is going to try to hit a fourth receptor called peptide YY in order to push that weight loss goal up to 30 per cent and be an alternative to bariatric surgery, which involves making the stomach smaller.
Study lead author Tristan Dinsmore said targeting peptide YY could also help burn off fat directly instead of doing it by suppressing appetite.
He said: "There is one more hormone we wanted to bring in to complete a weight control quartet. It's called peptide YY. This molecule is also secreted by the gut after we eat a meal, and its job is to reduce appetite and slow the process of emptying food from the stomach, but via different mechanisms than either GLP-1 or GIP.
"It may also be involved in directly 'burning off' fat."
The scientists are hoping not only for greater weight loss effectiveness but also for a better chance of a person keeping the weight off.
At the same time, they also want to mitigate some of the side effects people regularly get from weight loss drugs, as they estimated that as many as 40 per cent of people who try them give up after a month.
Joe Harker