The New Wave of Weight Loss Drugs: Beyond Ozempic and Wegovy

If you've heard about Ozempic and Wegovy, you might think the weight loss drug revolution is already here. But behind the scenes, biotech companies are racing to develop the next generation of obesity treatments—and some of them could be game-changers.

The Current Market Leaders

Novo Nordisk's Wegovy has been a major player since its approval in 2021, generating $1.95 billion in sales last year. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly's Zepbound, a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in 2023, has already captured significant market share with around $3.23 billion in 2025 sales. But the competition is heating up fast.

What Makes These New Drugs Different?

Most of these emerging treatments work by mimicking or activating hormones that your body naturally produces. GLP-1 agonists, for example, mimic the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone to stimulate insulin production, slow digestion, and reduce appetite—all of which help with weight loss.

What's exciting is that companies are developing variations on this theme. Some are combining GLP-1 with GIP receptors (which influence how fat is stored in your body), while others are exploring completely different mechanisms, like amylin analogs that increase feelings of fullness.

Meet the Rising Stars

Viking Therapeutics' VK2735 showed impressive results in phase 2 trials, achieving up to 14.7% weight loss after just 13 weeks. Even more striking: 88% of patients in the treatment group experienced at least 10% weight loss, compared to only 4% in the placebo group. The drug is now in phase 3 trials.

Structure Therapeutics' aleniglipron is an oral GLP-1 drug (meaning you take it as a pill, not an injection). In phase 2 trials, 67% of patients lost at least 6% of their body weight, and 33% lost more than 10% after 12 weeks. The company is now testing a new tablet formulation that showed a placebo-adjusted mean weight loss of up to 6.9% after 12 weeks.

Zealand Pharma's survodutide is a dual GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist that works by boosting energy burn and reducing food intake simultaneously. In phase 2 trials, it showed up to 19% weight loss after 46 weeks—and it's been licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim for further development.

Antag Therapeutics' AT-7687 takes a different approach as a GIP receptor antagonist, essentially blocking the GIP pathway that contributes to fat storage and insulin resistance. When tested in combination with an amylin analog, it produced robust and sustained weight loss that was superior to either drug alone.

Why Should You Care?

More options mean more choices tailored to your individual needs. Some people might prefer a daily pill over weekly injections. Others might benefit from drugs that preserve muscle while losing fat, or treatments that work through different biological pathways if one approach doesn't work for them.

The biotech industry is clearly betting big on obesity treatment. In 2024 alone, these companies raised hundreds of millions of dollars to advance their pipelines. Zealand Pharma raised $1 billion, Viking Therapeutics secured $632.5 million, and Structure Therapeutics closed a $747.5 million public offering.

While Wegovy and Zepbound have proven effective, the next few years could bring a much wider range of weight loss medications to market—each with its own benefits and considerations. The key takeaway: if one drug doesn't work for you, there may soon be several others worth exploring with your doctor.