Targeting Glucagon in the Treatment of Obesity: Insights From EASD 2026 Kirsi H. Pietiläinen, MD, PhD (videos)

https://reference.medscape.com/viewarticle/easd-2026-glucagon-updates-obesity-management-2026a10012gq Adding glucagon receptor agonists to GLP-1-based medications may prove beneficial in the treatment of overweight and obesity. Prof Kirsi H. Pietiläinen of the University of Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland, reviews four studies presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2026 Annual Meeting that addressed glucagon receptor targeting. In an MRI substudy of the phase 3 SYNCHRONIZE-1 trial, the dual glucagon/GLP-1 receptor agonist survodutide 6 mg produced 18% weight loss compared to 6.9% with placebo. Survodutide also resulted in substantial reductions in metabolically harmful fat with subcutaneous, visceral, and liver fat reductions of about 28%, 34%, and 63%, respectively.