New weight loss drug decreases appetite without nausea and can even burn calories

A new, better Ozempic?Scientists from the University of Copenhagen say they have developed a drug that decreases appetite while increasing calorie burning — without any signs of nausea.“While GLP-1-based therapies have revolutionized patient care for obesity and Type 2 diabetes, safely harnessing energy expenditure and controlling appetite without nausea remain two holy grails in this field,” said Zach Gerhart-Hines from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen.Ozempic is part of a class of diabetes and obesity drugs that mimic the GLP-1 hormone the body naturally produces after eating, suppressing appetite and stimulating weight loss.The University of Copenhagen scientists — funded by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk — wanted to see if they could create medication that curbs appetite and enhances calorie burning.They explored more than 380 G protein-coupled receptors — which receive signals from hormones and other stimuli to activate proteins, triggering a cellular reaction in the body — and ranked them based on their association with HbA1c, a major indicator of blood sugar regulation and diabetes progression.The researchers think they found their answer in the neurokinin 2 receptor (NK2R) after uncovering its genetic links to obesity and blood sugar control.NK2R has been studied for its role in the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, but the study authors believe it has not previously been linked to blood sugar regulation or cardiometabolic health.The University of Copenhagen researchers say scientists have not been able to effectively utilize the signaling pathway of NK2R because its natural activator quickly breaks down in the body and can also bind to other receptors besides NK2R, making it difficult to exploit with drugs.So they developed selective, long-acting NK2R agonists, finding that they increased calorie burning and lowered appetite in mice without any signs of nausea.In ...