A new type of weight loss jab could tackle obesity without people needing to change their eating habits, experts have claimed.
Over the last four years, blockbuster weight loss drugs that suppress appetite and promote satiety have revolutionised obesity treatment.
Whilst highly effective for weight loss, many users pile the pounds back on after stopping the treatment, because obesity is driven by more than appetite alone.
But now, diabetes experts hope the next big drug to hit the skinny-jab market, called RES-010, will boost metabolism without users needing to eat less food.
The drug is designed to tackle the underlying cause of obesity by blocking a molecule in the body, called miR-22, which controls how fats are metabolised in the body, and how energy within cells utilises and stores those fats.
Dr Ricardo Panella, co-founder and CEO of Resalis Therapeutics, which has produced the drug, 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 fat, boosting 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 the drug acts on these fundamental pathways, researchers believe users will be less likely to gain weight after coming off the drug.
The new fat jab would be the first to tackle the underlying cause of obesity without users needing to eat less researchers say
Dr Panella added: ‘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.’
The drug is currently in the first phase of clinical trials on humans, which will assess the safety of the drug before it can progress to further clinical studies on effectiveness.
Not only did a study find that obese mice receiving the weekly injection lost 12 per cent more weight than those left untreated—despite both groups eating the same amount of food—but the mice on the jab did not regain weight after the treatment was stopped.
This, Dr Panella suggests, shows that RES-010 isn’t suppressing appetite, but ‘reprogramming the metabolism’.
The study, called Reprogramming Obesity, will be presented to experts at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes’ (EASD) annual conference in Vienna, Austria.
While drugs like Wegovy consist of a single molecule—semaglutide, which mimics the gut hormone GLP-1—this new jab goes a step further and increases the amount of energy that cells produce and the amount of fat burned.
But, other experts have urged caution on the findings of the study which was conducted by the drug’s manufacturers—highlighting that it has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Dr Adam Collines, professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey, who was not involved in the study, told The Telegraph he would be ‘wary of claims of “reprogramming metabolism”.’
‘I think mechanistically this is speculative, without knowing the direct effects this is having on fat cells storage, and mitochondrial function.’
Experts are now waiting to see the full paper to better understand how the drug acts on fundamental pathways to promote weight loss without suppressing appetite with no side effects.
However, Dr Panella is confident that the new drug could revolutionise weight loss treatment, highlighting the drug’s ability to selectively target fat mass.
Whilst highly effective, one of the concerns with current weight loss drugs is that users don’t just shed body fat. Some studies have shown that some 40 per cent of the weight people lose is muscle, accompanied by a loss of bone density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis.
‘Lean mass, especially skeletal muscle, is central to strength, stamina and blood sugar regulation, and so its loss is potentially harmful,’ Dr Panella said.
But promising results showed that mice given the new fat jab only lost 1 per cent of lean mass over ten weeks, whilst those given semaglutide alone lost 8 per cent.
The drug is now being given up to 80 humans—including some with overweight and obesity—for the first time in a phase 1 clinical trial in the Netherlands.
The first participants started treatment in November 2024 and the initial findings are expected at the beginning of next year.
It comes as dieters could be offered mega-dose Wegovy jabs after landmark trials showed a triple-strength version of the slimming drug helped patients lose nearly a fifth of their body weight .
The once-a-week injection is already prescribed on the NHS at a maximum dose of 2.4mg.
But two major international studies have found that upping the amount to 7.2mg leads to significantly greater weight loss while remaining safe.
Experts say the ‘mega dose’ could provide a new option for people who have not lost enough weight on standard treatment, including those with type 2 diabetes.
But, side effects were also found to be more frequent at the higher dose. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation were the most common complaints.
In the UK, fewer than 200,00 people are thought to bes accessing weight loss jabs through the NHS, but over 1.4million are estimated to be using them privately, according to the health think-tanks the King’s Fund.
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