Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) just handed investors some encouraging news about amycretin, its experimental drug that's starting to look like a serious contender in the crowded diabetes and weight-loss space. The company released headline results from a phase 2 trial on Tuesday, marking the first time amycretin has been tested specifically in people with type 2 diabetes.

The results? Pretty solid. And now Novo Nordisk is gearing up to launch a phase 3 development program for amycretin in adults with type 2 diabetes sometime in 2026. That timeline matches up with the company's previously announced plans to kick off phase 3 trials for amycretin in overweight and obesity patients during the first quarter of 2026.

What the Trial Actually Tested

The study evaluated both once-weekly subcutaneous amycretin and once-daily oral versions against placebo in 448 patients with type 2 diabetes that wasn't adequately controlled on metformin. Some patients were also taking an SGLT2 inhibitor alongside their standard treatment. About 40% of participants were using an SGLT2 inhibitor before starting the trial, which is worth noting since these drugs help the kidneys flush excess glucose through urine.

The trial design was comprehensive: six subcutaneous doses ranging from 0.4 mg to 40 mg administered weekly, plus three daily oral doses of 6 mg, 25 mg, and 50 mg. Total treatment duration stretched up to 36 weeks.

Blood Sugar Control That Actually Works

Here's where things get interesting. Starting from a mean baseline HbA1c of 7.8%, the once-weekly subcutaneous version of amycretin achieved dose-dependent reductions in HbA1c of up to 1.8% by week 36. For context, HbA1c measures average blood sugar levels over several months, so this is a meaningful improvement.

The success rates tell an even better story. Up to 89.1% of patients hit HbA1c levels below 7%, and 76.2% reached levels at or below 6.5%. Those are targets that matter in diabetes management.

The oral version performed well too, though slightly less dramatically. Starting from a mean baseline HbA1c of 8.0%, once-daily oral amycretin delivered HbA1c improvements of up to 1.5% by week 36. About 77.6% of patients reached levels below 7%, and 62.6% got to 6.5% or lower.

Placebo groups, by comparison, saw HbA1c improvements of just 0.2% for the subcutaneous comparison and 0.4% for the oral comparison.

The Weight Loss Angle

But wait, there's more. Starting from a mean baseline body weight of 99.2 kg, subcutaneous amycretin delivered statistically significant weight loss of up to 14.5%, compared to just 2.6% in the placebo group. And here's the kicker: patients on the highest subcutaneous dose were only on that final maintenance dose for four weeks.

The oral version also performed well on weight loss. From a mean baseline of 101.1 kg, oral amycretin achieved weight loss of up to 10.1%, versus 2.5% for placebo.

Perhaps most importantly, at the higher doses of amycretin—whether injected or taken orally—no weight-loss plateau was observed at week 36. That suggests patients might continue losing weight with longer treatment, which would be a significant advantage.

NVO stock was up 2.16% at $45.92 during premarket trading Tuesday.