New Weight-Loss Medicines Coming: Retatrutide, Orforglipron and More

Several new weight-loss medicines have reported late-stage trial results, including retatrutide, orforglipron, an oral form of semaglutide, CagriSema, survodutide, MariTide and amycretin. A few have been approved overseas. As of October 2026, none of the medicines on this page is registered by the TGA for weight management, and when or whether they will become available in Australia is not yet known.

This topic is also in our free guide, The Weight-Loss Medication Guide. Get it emailed to you

Trial results are reported here as published. Results from one trial do not predict what any individual will experience, and comparing figures across different trials is unreliable because participants, durations and methods differ.

Laboratory glassware

Retatrutide

  • How it works: a weekly injection that acts on three hormone receptors: GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon (a “triple agonist”).
  • Trial result: in TRIUMPH-1 (2,339 adults without diabetes), average weight loss at 80 weeks was 19.0%, 25.9% and 28.3% across three dose levels. A subgroup with a BMI of 35 or more on the highest dose lost an average of 30.3% at 104 weeks (AJMC, May 2026). TRIUMPH-4, in 445 people with knee osteoarthritis, reported losses of up to 28.7% at 68 weeks (Patient Care, December 2025).
  • Status: still in phase 3 trials. Not approved in any country.

Orforglipron

  • How it works: a once-daily tablet. It is a small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist rather than a peptide, and is taken without food or water restrictions.
  • Trial result: in ATTAIN-1 (3,127 adults, 72 weeks), average weight loss was 7.8%, 9.3% and 12.4% across three dose levels, compared with 0.9% on placebo. Between 5.1% and 10.3% stopped because of adverse events (TCTMD).
  • Status overseas: approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 1 April 2026 for chronic weight management, under the US brand name Foundayo. The manufacturer says it has submitted applications in more than 40 countries (Eli Lilly).
  • Australia: not registered by the TGA.

Oral semaglutide (the “Wegovy pill”)

  • How it works: the same GLP-1 receptor agonist as the weekly injection, taken as a once-daily tablet. It must be taken on an empty stomach, with a 30-minute wait before eating.
  • Trial result: in OASIS 4 (307 adults, 64 weeks), average weight loss was 16.6% compared with 2.7% on placebo, and about 1 in 3 participants lost 20% or more (Healio). An earlier trial of a higher oral dose, OASIS 1 (667 adults, 68 weeks), reported 15.1% versus 2.4% (ACC summary of Knop et al., Lancet 2023).
  • Status overseas: approved by the FDA in December 2025 (Healio) and by the European Commission on 16 July 2026 (Nordic Life Science).
  • Australia: the oral weight-management form is not registered by the TGA.

CagriSema

  • How it works: a weekly injection combining semaglutide with cagrilintide, a manufactured version of the hormone amylin.
  • Trial result: in REDEFINE 1 (3,417 adults, 68 weeks), average weight loss was 20.4% compared with 3.0% on placebo, and 60% of participants lost 20% or more (Applied Clinical Trials, reporting Garvey et al., NEJM 2025).
  • Status: investigational. Not approved in Australia.

Survodutide

  • How it works: a weekly injection acting on both glucagon and GLP-1 receptors, being developed with a particular focus on fatty liver disease as well as weight.
  • Trial result: in SYNCHRONIZE-1 (725 adults without type 2 diabetes, 76 weeks), average weight loss was up to 16.6% compared with 3.2% on placebo (Boehringer Ingelheim, April 2026).
  • Status: in phase 3 trials. Not approved in any country.

MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide)

  • How it works: an injection given monthly or less often. It joins an antibody to peptides so that it switches on GLP-1 receptors while blocking GIP receptors, the opposite approach to tirzepatide on GIP.
  • Trial result: in a 52-week phase 2 trial, people without type 2 diabetes lost up to about 20% on average, compared with 2.6% on placebo; people with type 2 diabetes lost up to about 17% (Amgen, June 2025).
  • Status: phase 3 trials enrolling. Not approved in any country.

Amycretin

  • How it works: a single molecule that acts on both GLP-1 and amylin receptors, being tested as a weekly injection and as a daily tablet.
  • Trial result: in a 36-week phase 2 trial in 448 people with type 2 diabetes, weight loss was up to 14.5% with the injection and up to 10.1% with the tablet, compared with 2.6% and 2.5% on the matching placebos (HCPLive, November 2025).
  • Status: phase 3 trials starting in 2026. Not approved in any country.

How to read this news

  • Overseas approval is not Australian approval. A medicine must be registered by the TGA before it can be prescribed here in the usual way, and registration does not mean PBS subsidy. None of the current weight-management medicines is subsidised for weight loss (healthdirect).
  • Be wary of unapproved supply. Since October 2024, pharmacists have not been permitted to compound GLP-1 medicines (TGA). Any product offered as a version of a medicine that is not registered here sits outside that system; see unregulated treatments.
  • The same questions still apply. Larger and faster losses raise the same issues as current medicines: lean-mass loss, regain after stopping, and loose skin. See muscle loss and stopping medication.

Whether any medicine, current or future, suits you is a decision for you and your prescribing doctor.

Where to next

If you are still losing weight, the readiness assessment can help you gauge when skin surgery might be worth discussing. If your weight has settled and loose skin is now the main issue, book a consultation with Dr Kumar.

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