‘Holy Grail’ weight loss jab that burns fat without affecting appetite,
A new fat-busting pill could help patients lose weight without suffering the brutal side effects associated with some slimming treatments, experts revealed today.
Diet pills have a chequered history and only one is approved for NHS use in the UK — Xenical — which is not hugely popular because of its mode of operation.
The drug stops fat being absorbed, so that it passes straight through the body.
However, this process can give rise to unpleasant stomach or bowel issues like diarrhoea, which studies suggest have caused people to stop taking it.
Yet, in a first round human trial slimmers in Sweden taking the new drug—currently known as ATR-258—found they burnt fat yet preserved muscle mass.
Weight loss jab users on Mounjaro and Wegovy, by contrast, have reported losing muscle as well as fat leaving them feeling weaker or saggy.
Experts hope the experimental treatment could be the next big breakthrough in the fight against obesity as it is likely to appeal to a wider audience who are uncomfortable with injecting themselves.
Professor Tore Bengtsson, an expert in molecular bioscience at Stockholm University and founder of Atrogi, which manufactures the drug, said: ‘This pill can actively reshape body composition, reducing fat while preserving muscle mass, all without requiring dietary restriction. That’s unprecedented.’
He added: ‘Our results point to a future where we can improve metabolic health without losing muscle mass.
‘Muscles are important in both type 2 diabetes and obesity, and muscle mass is also directly correlated with life expectancy.’
The drug works by triggering the metabolism in the muscles, activating them to burn more fat.
This is different to injections like Mounajro, which disrupts signals between the gut and the brain, keeping patients feeling fuller for longer.
In the study, published in the journal Cell, 48 healthy volunteers and 25 with type two diabetes trialled the tablet and saw similar results to prior tests on animals.
Researchers found the drug was safe and aided weight loss without overstimulating the heart and other muscles.
It will now be tested in wider trials involving more volunteers.
Study co-author and pharmacology expert at the Karolinska Institute, Professor Shane Wright, said: ‘This drug represents a completely new type of treatment and has the potential to be of great importance for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
‘Our substance appears to promote healthy weight loss and, in addition, patients do not have to take injections.’
Last year, a sobering report suggested Britain’s spiraling obesity levels have fuelled a staggering 39 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40.
In the UK, over 5 million people are living with diabetes, with around 90 per cent having type 2 diabetes—which occurs when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or the insulin it makes doesn’t work properly.
This hormone is needed to bring down blood sugar levels.
At least half a million NHS patients and some 15million patients in the US are now thought to be using weight-loss jabs, which can help patients lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight in just a few months.
And the numbers using them privately are even higher.
It comes as obese patients in England, from today, will be able to access the so-called ‘King Kong’ of weight loss jabs, Mounjaro free of charge from their GP.
The weekly injection will be offered to around 220,000 people over the next three years under new NHS prescribing rules.
However, like any drug, side effects are wide-ranging and include issues like nausea and abdominal pain as well as severe digestive problems and even bone pain.
