One of the downsides of taking new anti-obesity medications is that patients tend to lose lean muscle mass along with body fat. What this means for patients over the long term isn't fully known, but there are several pharmaceutical companies studying the side effect and hoping to develop therapies that might regulate the condition.
mountain Scholar Rock shares have fallen more than 17% since the start of the year. Bratzel said Lilly's acquisition of Versanis backs up the idea that these drugs might one day be paired with incretins. Versanis' top drug candidate is bimagrumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds with activin type II A and B receptors to block activin and myostatin signaling. The drug is being tested in a phase 2b study alongside semaglutide to protect against loss of muscle mass.
mountain Simply Good Foods shares are trading near 52-week lows. "As it pertains to the topic du jour, GLP-1 drugs, we believe that SMPL offers investors some insulation from this headline risk as its products are protein dense and, should widespread GLP-1 adoption occur, would be a conveient way for consumers to ensure they are still eating the correct amount of protein." That's likely to become a bigger issue over time.