The "2025 China Enterprise Competitiveness Annual Conference" was held in Beijing from December 9 to 10. Song Gengshen, Director of the Drug Research Institute and Board Member of Youcare Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., stated in his speech that the weight loss sector is experiencing a market boom. With rising public health awareness, weight loss has become a significant clinical demand, driving the rapid emergence of related drugs. "Currently, semaglutide and tirzepatide have dominated the market with their remarkable weight loss effects right after their launch. Barring unforeseen circumstances, these two drugs are expected to dominate as the top-selling pharmaceuticals in 2025."
However, behind the market prosperity, the limitations of mainstream weight loss drugs are becoming increasingly apparent. Song Gengshen highlighted the drawbacks of GLP-1 single-target and dual-target peptide drugs: their core mechanism of suppressing appetite to reduce food intake, while effective for weight loss, can trigger a range of psychological side effects. "Multiple high-impact international studies have confirmed that GLP-1 drugs may lead to depression and low mood in users, even being vividly described as 'emotion-numbing medication.'"
Muscle loss is another critical issue that needs addressing. Song emphasized that healthy weight loss should focus on reducing fat rather than muscle. However, GLP-1 drugs often result in muscle loss during fat reduction, which not only affects physical function but also increases the likelihood of weight rebound—contradicting the goal of healthy weight management. "Although the industry has explored multi-target GLP-1 drug development, these problems remain fundamentally unresolved."
To tackle these challenges, Song proposed an innovative solution: small nucleic acid drugs. He explained that compared to traditional peptide drugs, small nucleic acid drugs demonstrate unique advantages in specific weight loss targets: "The biggest breakthrough is their ability to achieve 'weight loss without muscle loss.' Some small nucleic acid drugs can even promote muscle growth while reducing weight, fundamentally addressing the core shortcomings of traditional drugs."
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