🚨 BREAKING: Novo Moves Amycretin Into Phase 3. This Might Be the Drug They Were Really Waiting For

Novo Nordisk just announced that it is moving amycretin into Phase 3 trials for weight loss. Not one version. Two. The injectable and the oral.

Trials begin in early 2026. That would be headline news by itself, but what makes this a bigger deal is what it says about CagriSema.

Because that drug hasn’t even launched yet.

Novo just fast tracked something that hits the same targets as CagriSema before CagriSema has even reached the pharmacy shelf. They are not doing that because they are unsure. They are doing it because they already know what comes next.

CagriSema and Amycretin — similar goal, different design

CagriSema is expected to launch at the beginning of next year. It combines semaglutide with cagrilintide. Two well known drugs, one for GLP-1 and one for amylin, delivered together through a weekly injection.

It works. The trials showed around 22% weight loss. But since the trial design did not require people to step up to the maximum dose, it did not blow the doors off. Even with the trial design, it came in below what some people were hoping for. Just yesterday, Novo announced a new phase 3 trial for cagrisema, likely designed to deliver higher weight loss results.

Amycretin is different. It is not a combination. It is a single molecule that hits both GLP-1 and amylin receptors at the same time. That might mean smoother dosing, fewer side effects, and better consistency in the real world.

And Novo is not sitting on it. They are launching full scale Phase 3 trials for both the injectable version and the oral version. Right now. Before CagriSema even has a chance to prove itself on the open market.

That is the real story.

If amycretin were only just as good, this would not be happening

Novo is no startup. They are a global drug company with the best selling GLP-1 of all time. They do not need more pipeline just to say they have it.

They are building something to replace what is already coming.

If amycretin were equal to CagriSema, they would hold it back. Maybe run one trial. Maybe focus on the oral candidate alone, just for differentiation. They are not doing that.

They are launching a parallel strategy before their first version even arrives. That tells you they think amycretin will do more. Whether that is better weight loss, fewer patient complaints, or a lower manufacturing cost, they believe it is the stronger long term bet.

This is not a backup plan. This is the play they have been waiting to make.

Oral amycretin could be the biggest shift of all

It is not once a month. It is daily. But what makes this oral version of amycretin different is what it does and how it does it.

This would be the first oral drug that targets both GLP-1 and amylin receptors in a single molecule. That is brand new territory.

People who are on oral semaglutide already know the routine. You wake up, take your pill on an empty stomach, and wait before eating or drinking anything. It works, but the process is clunky. Add in the rising demand for combination therapies, and suddenly amycretin starts to look like something we have not had before — a dual-action pill that could bring more power and less hassle.

For patients with a lot of weight to lose who are not ready for injectables or have trouble tolerating them, this opens up a second lane. It is not about replacing shots. It is about creating choice. And when that choice includes something that works on both hunger and digestion, in a once-daily pill, the impact could be massive.

Novo has not released full data from the phase 2 trials, but the signal is clear. If they are pushing the oral version into Phase 3 alongside the injectable, they are not treating it like an afterthought. They are betting that it belongs on equal footing, maybe even as the more accessible entry point for millions of people still locked out of treatment, or under responsive to the current treatments.

What this means for anyone watching obesity care

If you are taking a GLP-1, trying to get one, or just keeping an eye on what happens next, this update should be on your radar. Novo is not just reacting to market pressure. They are building something different.

Amycretin is not a cocktail. It is not an incremental update. It is a new molecule built to target two of the most powerful metabolic pathways in obesity medicine. It does what CagriSema does, but it does it cleaner, with fewer moving parts, and in a format that could eventually be more scalable and more accessible.

This is not a backup plan. This is Novo showing us what they believe the future looks like.

And if they are right, CagriSema might be the warm-up, not the main event.

If this helped you make sense of what is coming, share it. Drop it in your Facebook groups, your chats, your threads. The more people know, the more power they have to advocate for themselves and their care.

Stay tuned to On The Pen for full breakdowns of the trial design when it drops — and for every move Novo and Lilly make as they fight to own the future of obesity medicine.

— Dave