Early trial results suggest new drug RES-010 could help the body process food better so it doesn’t get stored as fat – but some experts suspect the new injection is too good to be true
A new fat-burning injection could help people eat the same amount of food but still lose weight.
Tests in animals suggest the new drug could help the body process food better so it doesn’t get stored as fat. Mice given the weekly jab, called RES-010, lost weight despite eating the same amount as mice who were not given the treatment.
And the mice did not regain weight after the drug was stopped, according to early research presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna. The jab is different from current weight loss injections which suppress appetite so people eat much less.
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It is designed to block an RNA molecule called miR-22 – which experts have described as a “master controller” of many processes involved with obesity.
These processes include how the body breaks down and uses fats; the production and activity of mitochondria, the tiny structures that provide cells with energy and changes in how body fat is organised and how it functions. An early study has now started into the safety of the jab in people.
Dr Riccardo Panella, chief executive of Turin-based biotech Resalis Therapeutics, said: “RES-010 works by reprogramming how cells handle fat and energy.
“Rather than reducing appetite, it changes the way in which the body uses fats, boosts the production and activity of mitochondria, the ‘batteries’ that power cells, and helps convert white fat, which stores energy, into brown fat, which burns it. Because it acts on these fundamental pathways, weight regain is less likely.
“RES-010 is pioneering a new class of RNA medicines that reprogramme the body’s metabolism, with the aim of producing long-lasting weight loss and improved metabolic health by, for example, improving liver health.”
However some experts say more evidence is needed before it is confirmed the ambitious claims about the drug actually work. Only brief findings were presented at the conference in Austria with full details expected later.
Dr Adam Collins, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey, who was not involved in the research, said: “It is essential to see the full paper, to understand the mechanistic rationale behind the RES-10 and its proven metabolic effects before interpreting any overall weight loss results.”
Appetite-suppressing jabs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy have been hailed as potentially transformative for the NHS to tackle obesity but there are global shortages. The NHS does not have the capacity to offer them to everyone who is eligible so is starting with those dangerously obese via specialist NHS weight loss services.
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It has been estimated that around 1.5 million Britons are having weight loss jabs, mostly through costly private prescriptions.
Weight loss jabs slow digestion and reduce appetite by mimicking hormones which regulate hunger and feelings of fullness. They must be provided alongside specialist diet and lifestyle support, which the NHS has limited capacity to provide.
Research shows users of GLP-1 injections lose muscle as well as fat. Without drastic changes to diet and activity levels, users tend to pile the fat back on if they stop taking them – but not the muscle mass.