Will Amycretin Lift Novo Nordisk from Its Funk?

It’s no secret that Novo Nordisk is in something of a funk. In the last year, the value of the company has dropped by half. Its respected leader, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, stepped down suddenly in May. Lilly has taken the lead in the obesity market from semaglutide with its own tirzepatide, and numerous competitors are lining up to take even more. But three new papers on amycretin in Lancet suggest this new agonist for amylin and GLP-1 might help to lift Novo Nordisk from its slump.

Triple Exposure in Lancet

With these new papers, we finally have a complete look at the promise of amycretin. Novo teased us with topline results in January and then presented them in detail at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in June. But the peer-reviewed papers in Lancet deliver on all the details.

Suffice it to say that this is an impressive molecule (so far) for delivering on the promise of combining amylin and GLP-1 receptor targeting. Scientists at Novo Nordisk have long suspected that this dual mode of action has the potential to provide a leap forward in clinical benefits.

This is precisely why the company was tempted to over-promise on the effectiveness of CagriSema. It burned them. But that mistake does not mean that combining GLP-1 and amylin agonism will not prove to be quite beneficial.

From Promise to Reality

Indeed these three papers confirm that amycretin has the potential to work better than semaglutide and maybe even offer advantages over tirzepatide. In addition to its impressive weight loss, it appears to be suitable for oral administration.

But proving that it is truly better will be a tall order, as the commentary in Lancet explains:

“Although additional weight loss is welcome and helpful, our evolving concept of obesity management has now shifted towards an emphasis on the reduction of the risks and burdens of cardiovascular disease and other comorbidities. Semaglutide has proven use for cardiovascular disease, heart failure, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; tirzepatide has proven use for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, heart failure, and sleep apnea.”

In other words, new drugs like amycretin will have to deliver on more than just weight loss. The key question will be: how much more can they do to provide better health outcomes? If amycretin can deliver on that, then yes, it might provide the necessary spart to lift Novo Nordisk from its funk.

Click here, here, and here for these new papers in Lancet. For perspective on the potential for a comeback by Novo Nordisk, click here and here.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, painting by Gustav Klimt / Wikipedia

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July 21, 2025