Artelo Cannabinoid Drug Doubles Weight Loss When Paired with Popular Obesity Drug

Clinical-stage pharmaceutical firm Artelo Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARTL) reported nonclinical study data demonstrating that its oral cannabinoid drug candidate, ART27.13, drove weight loss comparable to Novo Nordisk A/S’ (NYSE:NVO) popular GLP-1 treatment semaglutide. When combined with semaglutide, ART27.13 doubled the total weight reduction in a diet-induced obesity model. Read Also: Nano-Cap Artelo Biosciences Stock Explodes — Glaucoma Study Collaboration Ignites Rally Challenging Obesity Research Assumptions The findings disrupt a 20-year pharmaceutical industry standard. Historically, drug developers targeted obesity by blocking the CB1 receptor. However, ART27.13 is a highly potent, full agonist that activates both CB1 and CB2 receptors. It specifically targets the body’s peripheral tissues to limit effects on the brain, offering a new pharmacological approach. Significant Fat Reduction In the study, obese mice on a high-fat diet lost approximately 20% of their baseline body weight over four weeks when given ART27.13 alone, mirroring semaglutide’s performance. Obese mice receiving both drugs lost roughly 40% of their baseline weight, restoring them to the size of normal, lean animals. Notably, fat accounted for about 80% of the total weight lost in groups treated with ART27.13, compared to 70% for semaglutide monotherapy. The combination therapy also produced the greatest improvements in metabolic markers, including cholesterol levels and glucose handling. Targeted Obesity Treatment The treatment showed no impact on the body weight, lean mass, or fat mass of lean mice on a standard diet, indicating the weight-loss mechanism targets only the obese state. While food consumption initially dropped in the treated obese mice, their appetites eventually returned while their body weights remained suppressed. The results align with independent research showing synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists reduce fat in obese subjects without affecting lean ones. ARTL Stock Price Activity: Artelo Biosciences shares are trading lower by 24.53% at $4.03 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by shisu_ka via Shutterstock Read Also: CLARITY Act Dies—Stablecoin Yields Survive