‘Better than Ozempic’ diabetes drug arrives in Australia

A new drug set to be better than the infamous diabetes turned weight-loss drug Ozempic will be trialled by two Melbourne hospitals. See if you’re eligible.

A new diabetes drug thought to be “better than Ozempic” will be trialled in Melbourne in a move researchers hope can help end global shortages.

The new treatment combines the active ingredient in the infamous diabetes turned weight-loss drug Ozempic – semaglutide – with another appetite-suppressant.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital will offer a select group of overweight, type II diabetics the treatment for free for a year, under a global trial involving multiple Australian hospitals.

RMH endocrinologist Associate Professor John Wentworth said he expected the new drug, CagriSema, would “be even better” than Ozempic and had the potential to “smash glucose levels”.

The new drug is thought to be better than Ozempic. Picture: AFP

“We know that if we use either drug on its own, it’s pretty effective,” he said.

“So when we put them together, we expect that it’s going to be even better and there’s data to support that from other studies.”

He said the weekly injection should lower diabetic’s blood sugar, weight and risk of heart attack and stroke.

“These drugs cause tummy upset, nausea and bloating and things like that in about one in twenty people, but as a long as the drug is tolerated, the diabetes will just be transformed,” he said.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital will offer a select group of overweight, type II diabetics the treatment for free for a year. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

He said semaglutide helped us feel fuller for longer and improved insulin release while cagrilintide — the other ingredient — was also an appetite suppressant.

“It acts on the brain and tells you to stop eating,” he said.

The drug, from pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, will be trialled by more than 2000 people the United States, Poland, South Africa and Australia.

Other Australian locations for the ‘Reimagine 4’ trial include Melbourne’s Austin Hospital plus sites in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.

Prof Wentworth said while the trial groups would be small — RMH can take 20 to 30 people and the eligibility criteria is quiet restrictive — it could help others get the drug.

“This is a massive international study, so the results will no doubt mean that the drug will get licensed,” he said.

He said he was not personally involved in the trial or set to benefit from it in anyway, but was still excited.

“Ozempic has basically had a stranglehold on our market,” he said.

“If we have more options, then surely we’ve got a better chance of getting decent supply to help people.”

He said it was these types of drugs could help a type II diabetic enter remission, but the big question would be what happened after they stop taking it.

“I think the issue with these medications is that we haven’t really worked out how best to keep the weight off,” he said.

He said while they were not sure whether all of the drug’s health benefits were purely a consequence of the weight loss they trigger, he suspected the drop in kilograms was the “prime mechanism”.

Details: www.thermh.org.au/research/clinical-trials-research-studies/reimagine-4