Amycretin: Oral vs Injectable, and How Much Weight It May Help You Lose

Amycretin is unusual in that it’s being developed as both a daily pill and a weekly injection, and early data suggests the injection produces more weight loss than the pill, though both are substantial. In trials, injectable amycretin has reached weight loss in the low 20% range over several months, while the oral version has produced double-digit results. It’s investigational and not FDA approved. Here’s how the two formats compare and what the numbers look like.

Two Formats, One Drug

Amycretin is a single molecule that acts on two targets, the GLP-1 and amylin receptors, combining appetite suppression from two different hormone pathways. What makes it distinctive is that Novo Nordisk is developing it in both a once-weekly subcutaneous injection and a once-daily oral tablet. This gives potential patients a choice: the convenience of a pill or the typically stronger effect of an injection.

The reason a drug can work in both forms is a matter of how much reaches your bloodstream. Injections deliver the drug efficiently, while oral peptide-style drugs face the challenge of surviving digestion, which usually means higher doses are needed and somewhat less predictable absorption. That difference tends to show up in the results.

How Much Weight Each Produces

The injectable data comes from a phase 1b/2a trial published in The Lancet in 2025, which studied once-weekly subcutaneous amycretin in adults with overweight or obesity and found estimated weight loss climbing with dose and time: about 9.7% at 20 weeks on a lower dose, 16.2% at 28 weeks on a higher dose, and roughly 22% at 36 weeks on the highest dose, with no plateau reached. A companion Lancet paper on the oral version showed a first-in-human result of about 13.1% weight loss at 12 weeks on the highest oral dose.

A later phase 2 trial in people with type 2 diabetes tested both formats head-to-head and reinforced the pattern.

Both are meaningful, and both were still trending downward when the trials ended, suggesting more weight loss might be possible over longer periods. The injectable consistently comes out ahead on magnitude, which is the general trade-off for its less convenient format.

Which Format Makes More Sense?

That depends on what a patient values. Consider a hypothetical patient who travels constantly and dislikes needles: a daily pill delivering roughly 10% weight loss might suit them better than a more effective injection they’d struggle to use consistently. Another patient focused purely on maximum results might prefer the injection. Having both options is the point, and it lets treatment fit the person rather than the other way around. Both formats were reported to have a safety profile consistent with GLP-1 and amylin drugs, with gastrointestinal effects being the main issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the amycretin pill as effective as the injection?

Not quite. In trials, injectable amycretin produced more weight loss than the oral version (reaching the low 20% range at higher doses over time, versus double digits for the pill). The pill is still effective, but the injection tends to deliver a larger effect.

How much weight can you lose on amycretin?

It depends on the format and dose. Injectable amycretin reached roughly 22% at 36 weeks on the highest dose in an early trial, while oral amycretin produced double-digit results. Weight loss hadn’t plateaued in these trials, so longer studies may show more.

Is amycretin available yet?

No. Amycretin is investigational and not FDA approved in either format. Novo Nordisk is advancing both the oral and injectable versions into phase 3 testing. TrimRx does not offer it.

To focus on treatments available today, you can explore the options available to you now with a licensed provider.

This information is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Amycretin is investigational and not FDA approved; details and timelines may change. Consult a healthcare provider before starting any medication. Individual results may vary.