Obesity medicine: Scientists developing cream to reduce weight, says report

Obesity medicine: In a significant breakthrough, scientists are developing a cream to reduce body weight, DailyMail.com reported.

The latest discovery in obesity medicine will be available in less invasive creams and patches, known as transdermal drug delivery systems.

The new technology could be leveraged to help millions of people uneasy about needles benefit from these drugs and reduce weight, the media report said, citing dermatologist and anti-ageing expert Dr Nicholas Perricone.

Dr Perricone is presently working on research to develop a gel formulation of tirzepatide, the compound used to make the Mounjaro drug.

He also hopes to work with Eli Lilly - the maker of Mounjaro “because I think it would be unique, and I'm sure that it would definitely work”, as per the DailyMail.com report.

“Research is underway to develop a thumbnail-sized patch loaded with tiny needles that contains potent doses of weight-loss-inducing medicine. These barely there needles will penetrate the skin without reaching deeper pain receptors and blood vessels, making them ideal for people with even the worst fear of needles,” the report said.

“You can certainly traverse the skin, getting to the dermalvascular [blood vessels deep in the skin], get it circulating, so that you get the benefits without a needle,” Dr. Perricone told DailyMail.com.

“You just put it on your wrist, and you rub your wrists together, and within about a minute, it's inside. It goes into the skin and then circulates [throughout the body].”

Currently, the gel is at an experimental stage. It still needs to undergo pre-clinical and human trials before it can be launched commercially.

Other weight-loss creams

Besides Dr. Perricone’s lab, Las Vegas-based Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals is also working on a cream formulation of the active peptide in the ingredient that is in Ozempic and Wegovy – semaglutide.

It penetrates the skin approximately 10 times better than standard topical drugs and steadily releases the medicine into the body over six hours.

In an efficacy study, scientists found that nearly 70 percent of the key drug penetrated the skin layers at a steady dose when it was mixed into a cream.

Boston-based Anodyne Nanotech is also working on a patch-based weight-loss medicine.

The company is planning to start clinical trials of its HeroPatch, a sticker smaller than a postage stamp that on one side is covered in tiny, dissolvable needles.

Researchers have found that about 10 per cent of the drug mixed into the cream passed through the skin over six hours.