While the industry’s attention was locked on retatrutide‘s triple-receptor efficacy numbers and CagriSema’s combination approach, Novo Nordisk was quietly running a third bet through Phase 2 trials — amycretin, a single molecule that combines GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonism, available in both injectable and oral formulations. In November 2025, the company reported Phase 2 results in people with type 2 diabetes, and by early 2026 amycretin was moving into Phase 3 testing for obesity. It’s the least talked-about of Novo’s next-generation candidates, and arguably one of the more interesting for a simple reason: it’s the only one of the three major approaches (retatrutide’s triple agonism, CagriSema’s combination injection, and amycretin’s dual-receptor single molecule) that comes in a genuine oral pill formulation with real efficacy data behind it.
One Molecule, Two Receptors
Amycretin activates both the GLP-1 receptor and the amylin receptor within a single molecule, rather than requiring two separately dosed drugs the way CagriSema does. That’s mechanically closer to what retatrutide does with its three receptors, just with amylin instead of GIP and glucagon in the mix. The pitch is similar either way: hitting more than one appetite-and-metabolism pathway simultaneously tends to outperform single-receptor drugs, and a single molecule is generally simpler to manufacture and dose than a fixed-ratio combination product.
What the Phase 2 Data Showed
In the November 2025 Phase 2 readout, conducted in people with type 2 diabetes, the injectable formulation of amycretin produced up to roughly 14.5% weight loss, while the oral pill version reached up to about 10.1%, both measured over 36 weeks. Those numbers are lower than the headline figures from retatrutide or CagriSema’s lead trials, but two things are worth keeping in perspective: this was a Phase 2 trial in a type 2 diabetes population (which typically shows smaller weight-loss responses than non-diabetic obesity populations across the entire GLP-1 class), and 36 weeks is a shorter treatment window than the 68-to-72-week trials that produced the bigger numbers elsewhere. Oral amycretin reaching double-digit weight loss at all, in a shorter trial and a harder-to-treat population, is a genuinely respectable result for an oral peptide-based drug.
Why the Oral Version Matters
Both the injectable and oral amycretin formulations are now advancing into Phase 3 testing for obesity specifically (as opposed to the type 2 diabetes population studied in Phase 2), which is where the real efficacy and durability questions will get answered. If oral amycretin’s Phase 3 results hold up anywhere near its Phase 2 numbers, it would give Novo Nordisk a genuine oral competitor to Eli Lilly’s Foundayo — a different chemical approach (dual-receptor peptide versus Lilly’s non-peptide small molecule) aimed at the same convenience-over-injection market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is amycretin approved yet?
No. As of early 2026 it’s advancing into Phase 3 trials for obesity, following Phase 2 results in a type 2 diabetes population. Regulatory approval, if it comes, is still years away.
How is amycretin different from CagriSema?
CagriSema combines two separately dosed drugs (semaglutide and cagrilintide) in one injection. Amycretin is a single molecule engineered to activate both the GLP-1 and amylin receptors directly, which is a different manufacturing and mechanistic approach even though both target similar hormone pathways.
Does an oral version exist?
Yes — amycretin is being developed in both injectable and oral formulations, with the oral pill reaching roughly 10.1% weight loss in the Phase 2 diabetes trial, a real if more modest result compared to the injectable version’s 14.5%.
This article is for educational purposes only and summarizes publicly available clinical trial and manufacturer information. Amycretin is investigational and not yet FDA-approved. It is not medical advice.