This new weight loss shot comes with the benefits of Wegovy – without the dreaded Ozempic face.
Researchers at Syracuse University and Seattle Children’s Research Institute are experimenting with a new weight loss shot that rivals its competitors already on the market, with the results of a gastric bypass surgery but without the side effects.
Principal investigators Robert Doyle, of Syracuse University, and Dr. Christian Roth, with Seattle Children’s, wanted to find a remedy for obesity without going under the knife.
Gastric bypass surgery often comes with many risks and complications.
Cue GEP44, the researchers’ novel weight loss jab.
“Obesity and diabetes were the pandemic before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Doyle said in a statement. “They are a massive problem, and they are projected to only get worse.”
It’s estimated that more than half of the world will be overweight or obese by 2035, according to a report released earlier this month by the World Obesity Federation.
To combat the ongoing obesity epidemic, the researchers tested alternative treatments on rodents – specifically, a shot that would interact with certain chemicals in the gut.
Doyle’s team crafted a molecule that activates the receptors for two hormones — glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, and peptide YY, or PYY — which help to regulate blood sugar, satiate appetite and signal fullness after eating.
When tested on rodents, the molecule curbed their hunger and resulted in them eating 80% less than normal. Following the 16-day study, the rats lost 12% of their body weight, which researchers note was three times more than rats treated with an FDA-approved anti-diabetic medication, liraglutide, which activates only the GLP-1 receptor.
The rats showed no adverse side effects that typically occur with clinical weight loss methods, such as nausea. And when tested on shrews — mammals that, unlike rats, are capable of vomiting — the creatures were able to keep down their lunch.
Additionally, researchers discovered that GEP44 not only prompted weight loss but also appeared to boost energy.
While the drug has a half-life of only an hour, Doyle said his team is working on another peptide with a longer half-life. Ideally, patients would need a dose only once or twice a week.
The rats tested with the latest version of the medication kept off the pounds even post-treatment, Doyle said, which isn’t very common.
But GEP44 could be used for a slew of medical possibilities – not just weight loss. Researchers suggest that the drug could reduce blood sugar, opioid cravings and even convert pancreas cells into insulin producers in diabetics.
The next steps involve testing the drug on primates, Doyle explained, to learn more about the potentials of GEP44.
“For a long time, we didn’t think you could separate weight reduction from nausea and vomiting, because they’re linked to the exact same part of the brain,” Doyle said.
However, GEP44 unlinked those pathways, which could allow the drug to be used for other means. Doyle referenced chemotherapy as one example of the medication’s potential use.
“What if we could maintain the benefit of chemotherapy drugs but tell the part of the brain that causes vomiting and nausea to knock it off?” he said. “Then we could dose patients at a higher level, so they would have a better prognosis, and they would also have a better quality of life while undergoing chemotherapy.”
The researchers presented their findings Wednesday at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Currently, there are a number of medications and procedures used to treat obesity, in addition to old-school diet and exercise. But the Hollywood elite has managed to get their paws on the costly Type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, also known as Wegovy, which also curbs appetite and helps users maintain fullness for longer.
While one-third of metro area New Yorkers admitted to being open to trying weight loss jabs, The Post previously reported, the injectables can be hard to come by. The mad rush for the magical weight loss remedy triggered a shortage of the medication, frustrating diabetics and patients who depend on the drugs to stay healthy.
However, more medications are currently in the works.
Earlier this year, researchers announced that the drug tirzepatide, which was already approved by the FDA for diabetics, could also be approved for weight loss when taken in higher doses.
Meanwhile, another team published their findings earlier this month about a drug that could spur weight loss without diet and exercise and could even stave off the pounds when overindulging. Currently an injectable tested on rodents, the scientists are attempting to create a pill version.