Pills for weight loss are twice as effective as existing drugs

A new weight-loss drug, tezofensin, developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company NeuroSearch, allows you to lose twice as many kilograms as the drugs used today. These are the results of Phase II clinical trials conducted by scientists from the University of Copenhagen together with specialists from NeuroSearch.

Tezofensin acts by inhibiting the reverse neuronal capture of the mediators serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain structures responsible for appetite. Its effect is achieved by suppressing the feeling of hunger and rapid satiety when eating. Initially, tezofensin was developed for the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, but scientists have drawn attention to its ability to cause weight loss.

The study led by Arne Astrup involved 203 obese patients whose average weight was just over a hundred kilograms. All patients were prescribed a diet, as well as taking medication for 1 tablet daily for 6 months. Approximately an equal number of people received tezofensin in one of three dosages or placebo.

Six months later, it turned out that the participants who received the placebo lost an average of 2.2 kg. People who took tezofensin at a dose of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg lost 6.7 kg, 11.3 kg and 12.8 kg, respectively, the scientists reported. The latter two indicators are about twice as high as the effect achieved when taking modern weight-loss drugs sibutramine and rimonabant, they noted.

According to the researchers, taking tezofensin in some cases was accompanied by side effects such as dry mouth, nausea, constipation, diarrhea and insomnia. Patients receiving the highest dose of the drug also had an increase in blood pressure.

Given the high efficacy and low number of side effects, the optimal daily intake of tezofensin at a dose of 0.5 mg, the authors of the study concluded.  They noted that phase III clinical trials of the drug will start in the near future. If the trials are successful, the drug tezofenzin may appear on the market in a few years, The Lancet magazine reports.