An experimental medication was shown to help boost weight loss by up to 20%, a study found.
Eloralintide, a once-weekly injectable manufactured by Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, led to "meaningful, dose-dependent weight loss" in adults who were overweight or obese but did not have diabetes, according to a press release.
The drug was generally well-tolerated by the study participants.
The Phase 2 trial, which was funded by Eli Lilly, included 263 adults. After 48 weeks, they had lost between 9.5% and 20.1% of their body weight, compared to 0.4% for those taking the placebo.
Treatment with eloralintide was also linked to improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profiles, glycemic control and markers of inflammation, all of which can increase cardiometabolic risk, according to the researchers.
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"The weight loss we saw in the study is clinically impactful," lead study author Liana K. Billings, M.D., director of clinical and genetics research in diabetes and cardiometabolic disease at Endeavor Health in Skokie, Illinois, said in the press release.
"With this degree of weight loss in only 48 weeks, we see people having improvement or resolution in other conditions like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and more weight-related conditions."
"Furthermore, in the study, we did not see a nadir or plateau of weight loss, so I would expect weight loss to continue if the study continued for a longer duration. Additionally, up to 90% of participants on eloralintide improved by at least one BMI category," she added.
The results were published in The Lancet and presented at ObesityWeek 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month.
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While popular GLP-1 drugs — including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound — work by mimicking the gut hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), eloralintide is a selective amylin receptor agonist that works by mimicking a pancreas hormone called amylin.
Similar to GLP-1s, it helps to slow digestion, reduce appetite and control blood sugar after meals. It has not yet been FDA-approved for clinical use.
The biggest side effects noted for eloralintide were mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue, the researchers noted. These effects were greater at higher doses.
"Obesity is a complex condition, and no single treatment works for everyone," said Billings.
"To truly address each patient's needs, we need therapies with different mechanisms of action so that each person can receive the treatment that offers the best balance of effectiveness and tolerability for them."
COULD GLP-1 WEIGHT-LOSS MEDICATIONS LIKE OZEMPIC BECOME THE 'EVERYTHING DRUG'?
Based on the trial results, the reseachers plan to launch Phase 3 clinical studies for obesity treatment by the end of this year, the president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health confirmed to Fox News Digital. The drug is also being evaluated for use in combination with GLP-1 medications.
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, shared some concerns about the new anti-obesity agents being developed.
"Between all the agents out there, there is no way any person cannot lose weight when coupled with progressive resistance training and attention to their daily macronutrient intake, even if only a little," the doctor, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
"Yet big pharma will continue to search for novel targets to introduce a new drug that will likely prove similarly, yet not more, efficacious than the current agents. There are enough agents out there to drive weight loss to a malnutrition status."
Osborn also noted that the lower cardiovascular risk associated with the drug was likely due to the participants losing body fat, which reduces the risk for all age-related diseases.
"Bottom line: If an individual has an experienced and competent physician supervising their care — and driving the formation of healthy habits in addition to simply using the medication — they will lose weight," he said.
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Sue Decotiis, M.D., a medical weight-loss doctor in New York City, also shared her thoughts on eloralintide’s potential as an alternative treatment.
"It seems that the more receptor systems that are influenced, the more weight a patient can lose," she told Fox News Digital. "This is why tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), which hits two receptors, induced more weight loss than Ozempic and Wegovy."
"In my practice, I witnessed significantly better results with tirzepatide when patients were switched from Ozempic."
Hitting more receptors may be the answer for those patients who do not respond well or who "hit the wall" with simpler drugs, according to Decotiis, who also was not involved in the study.
"For long-term safety and results, peptide drugs show promise," she said.
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Whitney Di Bona, in-house attorney and consumer safety advocate for Drugwatch, noted that while the Phase 2 results are "promising," it is important to be cautious.
"These drugs have been used for years, but new safety concerns keep appearing," the Florida-based expert told Fox News Digital. Some of those include a potentially serious eye condition, delayed stomach emptying, bowel obstruction and serious digestive problems, which have led to many lawsuits.
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"Some side effects are rare or take time to show up, so it is important to monitor new drugs like eloralintide for safety over the long term," Di Bona advised. "Even with careful studies, some risks may only become clear after the drug is used by many people."
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