Amgen’s experimental obesity drug shows promise in trials, with only mild side effects

Amgen Inc’s experimental obesity drug showed promising durability trends in an early trial, paving the way for a larger mid-stage study early next year, company officials said ahead of a data presentation on Saturday.

The small Phase I trial found that patients maintained their weight loss for 70 days after receiving the highest tested dose of the injected drug, currently known as AMG133.

Amgen shares have gained about 5 per cent since the company said on November 7 that 12 weeks of trial treatment at the highest monthly dose of AMG133 resulted in mean weight loss of 14.5 per cent.

At 150 days after the last dose, maintained weight loss had dropped to 11.2 per cent below original weight at the start of the trial, according to findings detailed at a meeting of World Congress of Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Los Angeles.

Patients treated with AMG133 did have side effects including nausea and vomiting, but most cases were mild and resolved within a couple of days after the first dose, Amgen said.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more that 40 per cent of the US population is obese, costing nearly US$173 billion annually. It is a primary cause of type 2 diabetes and been linked to heart disease, certain cancers and other health complications such as more severe Covid-19.