It sounds like something out of a utopian vision of the future from a 1970s science-fiction movie: What if you could reap all the benefits of exercise without lifting a finger? Or, more accurately, you lift a finger to pop a pill that produces some of exercise’s benefits without ever actually moving? A drug that just completed a successful Phase 1 trial may one day make such a ludicrous achievement in pharmaceutical science possible.
As shared in a statement released by Enveda, the biotech company developing the experimental drug currently named ENV-308, the potentially wonder drug so far appears safe and well-tolerated in a trial involving 88 healthy adults.
To get into the scientific details, ENV-308 is designed to mimic a molecule called Lac-Phe, which the body produces during intense exercise. Scientists found that Lac-Phe can suppress appetite and possible that it could help regulate metabolism. When it’s naturally produced by your body, it disappears quickly. ENV-308 is designed to stick around longer, and it comes in the tried-and-true delivery device of a once-daily pill.
Don’t Get Carried Away by Exercise Pill Fantasies Just Yet
Animal studies provide evidence that the pill could help preserve muscle during weight loss and prevent animals from quickly regaining weight that they’ve lost. The drug has also been found to lower leptin levels in study participants, meaning that it could have an effect on hormonal systems involved in appetite and metabolism.
Before you start dreaming of sitting on your ass all day and somehow managing to be just as fit as the pro athletes are watching on TV, there’s one big caveat: the drug has not yet been shown to cause weight loss in humans. Phase I trials are all about testing safety, not whether the drug actually works for its intended purpose. That’s what Phase II is for.
Still a ways off before the pill hits the market, if ever, but it could be a potential boon for people who, for instance, can’t handle GLP-1 drugs because of the side effects or concerns about muscle loss. Enveda also says that it’s looking into whether the drug could also help with non-weight-loss-related conditions like migraines and inflammatory bowel disease.
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