Weight-loss pill designed to mimic exercise clears testing
Spending hours in the gym to get fit may one day be a thing of the past, as a pill designed to mimic some of the effects of exercise is showing promising results in clinical trials.
The experimental daily pill, known as ENV-308, is designed to mimic a hormone called Lac-Phe, which is released during high-intensity exercise. The hormone helps suppress appetite and has been shown to reduce obesity in animal studies.
On Tuesday, the company behind the pill, Enveda, released results from its Phase I human clinical trial. The pill was found to be “extremely well tolerated across 88 healthy volunteers” and did not produce any severe gastrointestinal side effects, a common complaint among some GLP-1 users.
The study also measured the impact of ENV-308 on leptin, an appetite-regulating hormone released by fat cells that signals to the brain how much energy the body has stored. In people with obesity, leptin levels are often elevated and the brain becomes less responsive to the hormone. In animal studies, ENV-308 was shown to rapidly reduce leptin levels.
Are GLP-1 drugs for everyone?
Animal studies also showed that ENV-308 helped preserve lean muscle mass during weight loss and prevented weight regain after weight-loss therapies, such as GLP-1 drugs, were discontinued.
The biotechnology company hopes the drug can help people maintain weight loss and muscle mass without the gastrointestinal issues many people have reported while taking GLP-1 medications.
“ENV-308 is our attempt to put the chemistry of exercise into a daily tablet and to offer a sustainable and convenient solution that fits into people’s daily habits and supports them on the path to long-term health,” Viswa Colluru, founder and CEO of Enveda, said in a company statement.
Genetics could explain why weight loss drugs work better for some
What also makes ENV-308 notable is that it was discovered using an AI model called PRISM.
“Unraveling the chemistry of exercise through the lens of AI presents a new frontier for the discovery of the next generation of metabolic medicines,” said Prof. Nadeem Sarwar, Enveda’s global head of metabolic strategy and disease prevention.
The company plans to conduct additional trials, including studies involving former GLP-1 users. However, that does not mean ENV-308 will be available anytime soon. Phase II and Phase III trials, along with FDA approval, could take six to eight years or longer to complete.