By Gianni Marini,Pa Media

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A new type of weight loss jab can help maintain weight reductions by tackling the underlying causes of obesity, scientists have said.

The drug, which is called RES-010, is designed to block an RNA molecule called miR-22 – which experts have described as a “master controller” of many processes involved with obesity.

These processes include how the body breaks down and uses fats; the production and activity of mitochondria, the tiny structures that provide cells with energy and changes in how body fat is organised and how it functions.

Researchers hope the new drug will help all of these functions in a weekly jab and lead to long-lasting weight loss.

They found that that obese mice who were given RES-010 lost weight despite eating the same amount as mice who were not given the treatment, the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, in Vienna, Austria was told.

And the mice did not regain weight after the drug was stopped, according to an abstract presented at the meeting.

An early study has started into the safety of the jab in people.

Dr Riccardo Panella, co-founder and chief executive of Turin-based biotech Resalis Therapeutics, said: “RES-010 works by reprogramming how cells handle fat and energy.

“Rather than reducing appetite, it changes the way in which the body uses fats, boosts the production and activity of mitochondria, the ‘batteries’ that power cells, and helps convert white fat, which stores energy, into brown fat, which burns it.

“Because it acts on these fundamental pathways, weight regain is less likely.

“RES-010 is pioneering a new class of RNA medicines that reprogramme the body’s metabolism, with the aim of producing long-lasting weight loss and improved metabolic health by, for example, improving liver health.”

Commenting, Dr Adam Collins, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey, said: “It is essential to see the full paper, to understand the mechanistic rationale behind the RES-10, and its proven metabolic effects. Before interpreting any overall weight loss results.”

A separate study found that tirzepatide, which is sold under the brand name Mounjaro and manufactured by Eli Lilly, improves blood sugar among children aged 10 to 17 with type 2 diabetes whose condition is not properly controlled with existing treatments.

The study, which was presented at the same meeting and published in The Lancet, examined 99 young people who were either given tirzepatide or a dummy drug, known as a placebo.

At the start of the study all of the children had blood sugar levels above 6.5%, classifying them as having type 2 diabetes.

But after taking tirzepatide for 30 weeks, some 79% were below this level. And 53% had blood sugar levels below 5.7% or less – below the range for pre-diabetes.

Among those who took the placebo, these scores did not change during the monitoring period.

The authors concluded: “Tirzepatide demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvements in blood sugar control and BMI in youth with type 2 diabetes.

“Tirzepatide is the first drug used for type 2 diabetes in this age group that has shown sustained clinically meaningful BMI-lowering effects… these results support tirzepatide as a potential safe and efficacious treatment option for youth-onset type 2 diabetes.”

Commenting on the study, Nikki Joule, policy manager at Diabetes UK, said: “Type 2 diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate, particularly in children and young people where the condition is more aggressive, leading to devastating long-term complications.

“Yet treatments for children and young people with type 2 diabetes are limited and often less effective.

“This promising study highlights tirzepatide as a much-needed potential option that could help improve how we treat and care for young people with type 2 diabetes.”

Meanwhile, Eli Lilly also published top line results from a “head-to-head” study assessing its new weight loss pill’s effectiveness at helping patients with diabetes.

Researchers tested orforglipron compared to oral semaglutide among 1,698 adults with type 2 diabetes which they couldn’t keep in control with the drug metformin.

Over the course of a year, orforglipron lowered blood sugar by 2.2% compared with 1.4% with oral semaglutide at the highest doses, the company said.

People taking the highest dose of orforglipron lost an average of 8.9kg during the course of the year, compared with 5.0 kg among those taking the highest dose of oral semaglutide.