A NEW drug developed to combat diabetes and obesity melts fat at double the rate of other GLP-1 drugs, scientists say.
The injection is also quicker and cheaper to produce than currently available medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro.
Ecnoglutide is a new GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) similar to semaglutide, the active ingredient used in diabetes jab Ozempic and weight loss treatment Wegovy.
The once-weekly injection is as effective as other type 2 diabetes medications - such as commonly prescribed dulaglutide - at lowering blood sugar levels in patients, a trial showed.
But the study - published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal - showed that ecnoglutide was more effective than dulaglutide, also a GLP-1, for weight loss.
Type 2 diabetics taking ecnoglutide lost nea