Research

Hormonal

Setmelanotide, a melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist, produces significant weight loss in patients with specific genetic obesity disorders (POMC, LEPR, or PCSK1 deficiency).

Setmelanotide is an FDA-approved treatment for obesity caused by specific genetic mutations (POMC, LEPR, or PCSK1 deficiency). In clinical trials, it led to significant weight loss (up to 51 kg over 42 weeks) in patients with these conditions. It is not for general obesity but targets the underlying hormonal pathway affected by these genetic disorders.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The pivotal study by Kuhnen et al. demonstrated that Setmelanotide administration to patients with POMC deficiency resulted in major weight loss of 20.5 kg and 51.0 kg over 12 and 42 weeks respectively [72]...
Mariana Abdel-Malek et al. · Internal and Emergency Medicine · 2023

Why this rating

Based on pivotal studies and Phase 3 trials in specific genetic subgroups.

Source

Pharmacotherapy for chronic obesity management: a look into the future

Mariana Abdel-Malek et al. · Internal and Emergency Medicine · 2023

DOI 10.1007/s11739-023-03237-4

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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