If you’ve been anywhere near health news this fall, you’ve probably seen a new word popping up next to Ozempic and Zepbound: amylin. Headlines are calling amylin weight loss drugs “the next generation.” TikTok and Reddit are full of people asking what it is and whether it’s “better than GLP-1.”
The short answer is that it’s early. But the science behind it is interesting, and two big trial results landed in the last week of September. Here’s the plain-English version.
What is amylin?
Amylin is a natural hormone. It’s made by the same cells in your pancreas that make insulin (called beta cells), and it’s released at the same time, right after you eat.
Scientists have known about it for decades. Research reviews describe three main jobs it does in the body:
- It helps signal that a meal is over, the feeling scientists call satiation.
- It slows down how quickly food leaves the stomach (known as gastric emptying).
- It holds back glucagon, a hormone that raises blood sugar, especially after meals.
So why didn’t anyone just turn amylin into a drug years ago? Human amylin has an awkward habit: it tends to clump together, which makes it hard to use as a medicine. In 2005, the FDA approved pramlintide (sold as Symlin), a lab-made version with three small changes that stop the clumping. It was approved for people with diabetes who use mealtime insulin, not for weight loss, and it is still the only amylin-based drug on the market.
How is amylin different from GLP-1?
GLP-1 is a different hormone, made mainly in the gut. It’s the one copied by semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy). Tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) copies GLP-1 plus a second gut hormone called GIP. We looked at another multi-hormone drug in our article on Lilly’s retatrutide TRIUMPH-2 results.
Amylin works through its own separate receptors. That’s why drug companies are testing it two ways: on its own, and combined with a GLP-1 drug to see whether the two add up.
What the new trials reported
Both results below were announced by the companies themselves and presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in late September 2026. The numbers are their reported results, not independent findings.
| Drug (company) | What it is | Trial | What the company reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrelintide (Zealand Pharma, with Roche) | Amylin drug on its own | Phase 2, 485 adults with obesity or overweight, 42 weeks, compared with placebo | Average weight loss of up to 10.7%, vs 1.7% on placebo |
| EloraTZP (Eli Lilly) | Eloralintide (amylin) plus tirzepatide | Phase 2, 367 adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, 48 weeks | Average weight loss of 23.3%, vs 14.8% on tirzepatide alone |
1. Petrelintide: amylin on its own
Zealand Pharma announced on September 29 that the full results of its ZUPREME-1 trial were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. According to the company, people on petrelintide lost up to 10.7% of their body weight on average after 42 weeks, compared with 1.7% for people on placebo (a dummy treatment).
The company also said stomach-related side effects happened at rates similar to placebo. That’s the claim getting the most attention, because nausea is one of the most common complaints with GLP-1 drugs. Zealand says it has started a global Phase 3 program, the large, final stage of testing before a company can ask the FDA for approval.
2. EloraTZP: amylin plus tirzepatide
On September 30, Eli Lilly reported results from a Phase 2 trial of eloralintide, its experimental amylin drug, taken together with tirzepatide. In 367 adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, Lilly said the combination led to 23.3% average weight loss after 48 weeks, compared with 14.8% for tirzepatide alone. Lilly also reported a larger drop in A1C, a standard measure of average blood sugar.
Lilly said the most common side effects were stomach-related and mostly mild to moderate, occurring mainly while doses were being increased. Between 10.8% and 27.0% of people on the combination stopped treatment, depending on the group, according to the company. Lilly says it plans to start Phase 3 trials in the last quarter of 2026.
Is any amylin weight loss drug approved?
Not yet. As of October 5, 2026, no amylin-based drug is FDA-approved for weight management.
The closest is Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema, which combines semaglutide with an amylin drug called cagrilintide. In a February 2026 filing, Novo said it had submitted CagriSema to the FDA in December 2025 and expected a decision by late 2026. The same filing reported that in one head-to-head trial, REDEFINE 4, CagriSema did not meet its main goal against tirzepatide.
Petrelintide and eloralintide are earlier. Both still need large Phase 3 trials, which usually take years.
What it all means
Here’s what the headlines tend to skip. These are Phase 2 results, reported by the companies running the trials. Phase 2 is the middle stage of testing: big enough to look for a signal, too small and too short to settle questions about long-term safety. Results can look different once a drug is tested in more people for longer.
What is new is the direction. For years, obesity research meant GLP-1 and nothing else. Now the big drug companies are betting on a second hormone, either alone or in combination. It’s the same trend we covered with Viking’s VK2735 maintenance study: the race has moved from one hormone to several.
It’s also a reminder that peptide science moves fast, and the details matter. Our Research Library follows these stories as the evidence comes in.
Frequently asked questions
What is amylin in simple terms?
Amylin is a natural hormone made by the pancreas alongside insulin after meals. Research describes it as helping signal the end of a meal, slowing stomach emptying and holding back glucagon.
Is petrelintide approved?
No. As of October 5, 2026, petrelintide is experimental. Zealand Pharma says it has started Phase 3 trials, which must finish before the company can ask the FDA for approval.
Is an amylin drug the same as a GLP-1 drug?
No. They copy different hormones that work through different receptors. Some experimental products, like CagriSema and EloraTZP, combine the two.
Where can I read the trial results myself?
The petrelintide trial was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, and both companies’ press releases are public. Links are in the sources below.
Sources
- Zealand Pharma press release: ZUPREME-1 petrelintide results and Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology publication (Sep 29, 2026)
- Eli Lilly press release: EloraTZP Phase 2 results (Sep 30, 2026)
- Novo Nordisk SEC filing (Form 6-K): CagriSema FDA submission and REDEFINE 4 (Feb 23, 2026)
- TIME: The Next Generation of Weight-Loss Drugs Is Almost Here (Oct 1, 2026)
- Boyle, Zheng & Lutz, “Mediators of Amylin Action in Metabolic Control,” Journal of Clinical Medicine (2022)
- Hoogwerf, Doshi & Diab, review of pramlintide, Vascular Health and Risk Management (2008)
- DailyMed (NIH): Symlin (pramlintide) prescribing information, initial U.S. approval 2005