Pennington Biomedical Launches Clinical Trial of CagriSema, a Dual GLP-1/Amylin Weight Loss Drug Aiming to Reduce Side Effects
核心洞察
Pennington Biomedical Research Center is recruiting participants for a clinical trial testing CagriSema, a novel weight loss drug combining GLP-1 (搜索) and amylin (搜索) peptides.
The study aims to determine whether the amylin (搜索) component helps preserve muscle mass and mitigates the drop in resting metabolic rate during weight loss.
Participants are randomized to drug or placebo, both targeting 10% weight loss through a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
BATON ROUGE, La. — The Pennington Biomedical Research Center has launched a clinical trial investigating CagriSema, an investigational weight loss drug that pairs two naturally occurring peptides: GLP-1 (搜索), the same compound found in approved medications like Ozempic, and amylin (搜索). The study, led by LSU Boyd Professor Dr. Eric Ravussin, director of the Human Translational Physiology Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical, is actively recruiting participants through July 15.
The trial, called NOVO Expenditure, seeks to answer a critical question in obesity (搜索) pharmacotherapy: whether adding amylin (搜索) to a GLP-1 (搜索) receptor agonist can mitigate two well-recognized challenges of weight loss — muscle mass reduction and the compensatory decline in resting metabolic rate.
“They want basically to decrease the side effect and also they want to maybe decrease the drop in resting metabolic rate, which is happening with weight loss,” Dr. Ravussin said.
Study Design and Methodology
The randomized, placebo-controlled trial has enrolled more than 30 participants to date and needs five additional volunteers. Eligible candidates must have a BMI between 30 and 45, be between 18 and 65 years old, and cannot have diabetes or have actively attempted weight loss in the preceding three months.
Participants are randomly assigned to receive either CagriSema or placebo, with neither the researchers nor the volunteers aware of group assignment. Both arms follow a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity plan, with a shared target of 10% weight loss. Those receiving the active drug may achieve this goal in as little as two months, while those on placebo could require four to five months.
The study employs Pennington’s metabolic chambers to measure 24-hour energy expenditure, complemented by body composition scans and blood draws. Participants must stay overnight at the clinic for three nights across three visits, wear an activity tracker for multiple days, and provide muscle and fat tissue samples.
“You have heard a lot about losing muscle with this GLP-1 (搜索), and we want to measure muscle mass loss. Do you lose more muscle with 10% weight loss when you are on a GLP-1 versus just a low energy diet?” Dr. Ravussin said.
Clinical Significance
The research comes at a transformative moment in obesity (搜索) medicine. Dr. Ravussin, who has spent more than 45 years in obesity research, underscored the magnitude of recent advances.
“For somebody like me who has been for more than 45 in obesity (搜索) research, this is really a good time now because you remember, I mean, most of the drugs, I mean, they were providing 5 to 10% of weight loss. Now we’re talking about 25 to 30% of weight loss. This is spectacular. It seems to be very, very safe. And it’s a good time for people who are in obesity research,” he said.
The study is expected to last approximately 18 months, and qualifying participants can earn up to $4,500 for completion. Results from the Pennington trial could ultimately appear on the drug’s label. CagriSema is anticipated to reach the market in the first quarter of 2027.
“This clinical trial explores the potential of a new treatment on the leading edge of metabolic health and weight-loss science,” Dr. Ravussin said. “Our clinical trials welcome participants to not only contribute to scientific discoveries but also potentially benefit from them.”