A new study offers fresh hope for people living with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Researchers report progress toward a pill that lowers blood sugar and boosts fat burning without cutting appetite or weakening muscles. The findings come from a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University.
The drug works very differently from popular treatments like Ozempic. Those medications rely on gut and brain signals to reduce hunger and are usually given by injection. While effective, they often bring nausea, stomach issues, appetite loss, and muscle decline. The new approach aims to avoid those problems by targeting how muscles use energy.
Instead of telling the brain to eat less, the treatment turns on metabolism directly in skeletal muscle. That shift matters because muscle plays a key role in blood sugar control and overall health. Stronger muscle is also linked to longer life.
The tablet is built from a lab-developed molecule known as a beta-2 agonist. These molecules are not new, but past versions often overstimulated the heart. That risk limited their use. The research team redesigned the molecule to trigger helpful muscle signals without pushing the heart too hard.
In animal tests, the treatment improved blood sugar levels and body composition. Fat burning increased, while muscle mass stayed intact. Appetite did not drop, and digestive side effects did not appear. Those results stood out because many existing diabetes and weight-loss drugs struggle to protect muscle.
Early human testing brought encouraging news as well. In a phase I clinical trial, 48 healthy volunteers and 25 people with type 2 diabetes took the drug. The participants tolerated it well, and no major safety concerns emerged.
“Our results point to a future where we can improve metabolic health without losing muscle mass,” said Tore Bengtsson, a professor at Stockholm University. He explained that muscle health matters deeply in both diabetes and obesity and connects closely to life expectancy.
“When blood sugar stays high, muscle tissue struggles to absorb glucose. Over time, that raises the risk of serious problems, including heart disease and nerve damage. Many treatments focus on lowering sugar levels but ignore what happens to muscle along the way,” Bengtsson told The Brighter Side of News.
“This new drug flips that focus. By activating metabolism inside muscle cells, it helps the body use sugar more efficiently. Fat burning rises as well, which supports healthier weight loss,” he continued.
Shane C. Wright, an assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet, said the drug could change how treatment feels for patients. “This drug represents a completely new type of treatment and has the potential to be of great importance for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity,” he said. He also noted that patients would not need injections.
Another strength of the drug lies in how it fits with existing therapies. Because it works through muscle instead of appetite control, it can be combined with GLP-1 drugs. The two treatments act on separate pathways, which opens the door to stronger results without piling on side effects.
“This makes them valuable both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with GLP-1 drugs,” Wright said.
That flexibility matters for patients who cannot tolerate appetite-suppressing drugs or who lose too much muscle while using them. It also gives doctors more options to tailor care.
The next step is a larger phase II clinical trial. That study will focus on people with type 2 diabetes or obesity and will test whether the benefits seen in animals and early trials hold up over time. The trial will be run by Atrogi AB, the company developing the treatment.
The research reflects years of teamwork across institutions in Sweden, Denmark, and Australia. Contributors came from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University, Uppsala University, the University of Copenhagen, Monash University, and the University of Queensland. Funding came from groups including the Swedish Research Council and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Several authors have ties to Atrogi AB. Bengtsson is the company’s founder and chief scientific officer, and some researchers own company shares. Patents have been filed for the drug substance. These connections are fully disclosed in the study.
If future trials succeed, this research could reshape treatment for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Patients may gain access to an oral medication that improves blood sugar while preserving strength and energy. Protecting muscle could lower long-term risks and support healthier aging.
For researchers, the study highlights muscle as a powerful target for metabolic disease. It may inspire new therapies that work with the body’s energy systems instead of suppressing appetite alone.
For society, the findings point toward treatments that improve quality of life, not just numbers on a chart.
Research findings are available online in the journal Cell.
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