Some advances that we will see soon were unthinkable just a few years ago. Over the next year, pharmaceutical innovations will arrive or be consolidated that will improve the quality of life of patients or completely transform it with treatments that stop the progression of diseases. … with hardly any alternative, like Alzheimer’s, ALS or Huntington’s disease. Life-saving drugs such as new CAR-T ‘in vivo’ against cancer and others that will allow us to gain years of health, such as the new pills that cause LDL cholesterol to plummet or ‘bad’ or regenerate bone beyond slowing osteoporosis. 2026 is full of health news.
Pills that do work to lose weight
Table of Contents
- Pills that do work to lose weight
- Cholesterol at bay, without injection
- Stop the progression of Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis
- The dream of stopping Huntington’s and ALS
- Regenerate lost bone
- Goodbye to hot flashes without fear of breast cancer
- Asthma without bronchodilators
- Strep vaccine
- New hair and no gray hair!
- Medications that extend life
The market for anti-obesity and diabetes medications is about to experience a new revolution. The first was the development of ozempic, wegovy, mounjaro… the first drugs that kept glucose at bay and at the same time achieved effective weight loss, even in people who had been on a diet all their lives. But one of the drawbacks is that they are injectable treatments, which are difficult to take for those who have a phobia of needles.
For decades, researchers have been searching a “pill” to replace the insulin injection in diabetics. And they have achieved it with weight loss drugs. Now it will be a reality in Europe during 2026, because it begins its regulatory process with the EMA. And behind this advance are the large pharmaceutical companies that work in the field of type 2 diabetes and obesity, such as Novo Nordisk, Lilly, AstraZeneca and Roche.
The tablet mimics the action of the GLP1 hormone, with its adverse effects (nausea, constipation…), but offers the advantage of avoiding the puncture, to which many patients are reluctant, and becomes a pill that can be kept at room temperature and without restriction: it can be taken at any time of the day, even on an empty stomach.
Cholesterol at bay, without injection
Laroporvstat and MK-0616 are the first two pills that act directly by inhibiting the PCSK9 protein that raises ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in the blood. Its convenience (one tablet daily), compared to current injectable treatments, helps the patient not to abandon treatment. During its development it has been proven that reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels by up to 50% (LDL) in the blood and this is important because hypercholesterolemia affects 50% of the population and half are not aware of it and do not take medication, with the consequence that cholesterol causes atheromatous plaques in the arteries and is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, heart attack and stroke.
AstraZeneca and Merck are working on this advance, in the very advanced phases of the study and about to begin the procedures to request approval from the regulatory agencies (FDA and EMA).
Stop the progression of Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis
Unlike all current treatments, which act on the symptoms of the disease, the drug that Lilly is developing inaugurates the era of drugs that really slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s. In studies, it has also been seen that in 75% of patients, removes amyloid plaques that cause neuronal death. It is an injectable that is administered once a month for 18 months and three years after completing the treatment, it has been observed that the effect continues and produces improvements. Kisunla – this is its name – will change how neurodegenerative disease is diagnosed and treated. It will be available in Spain in 2026 and in Europe and other markets between 2026 and 2027.
For its part, Roche is also developing an oral drug in phase 3, fenebrutinib, to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis through a dual mechanism of action that combats acute and chronic inflammation.
The dream of stopping Huntington’s and ALS
Pridopidine is a tablet administered orally, a very powerful and selective drug, which acts by stimulating the key neuroprotective mechanisms in these two diseases. It is currently in phase 3 (almost the last step before requesting authorization for approval and use) with very good results in patients with HD, reported in the journal Nature Medicine. In the case of ALS, there is in advanced phase of clinical development and a phase 3 trial is planned to be launched in January 2026
The drug developed by Ferrer is the first treatment that seeks to stop Huntington’s disease, which until now only has treatments to relieve symptoms and palliative care, but not for the overall progression of the disease. The latter could represent a great advance in the treatment of ALS.
Regenerate lost bone
Entera Bio is behind the development of the first pill drug that achieves a significant increase in bone mineral density in osteoporosis or low bone mineral density, in the femoral neck, hip and lumbar spine, with a quick effect. Furthermore, in the studies that have been carried out, a strengthening in the outer layer and in the inner structure of the bone has been seen.
An oral treatment increases bone mineral density quickly in cases of osteoporosis
The effect is similar to the current drug (injectable), but oral intake could improve treatment adherence. It is currently in one of the last phases of research and pending to begin all the regulatory procedures for access to the market.
Goodbye to hot flashes without fear of breast cancer
We will see the first non-hormonal drug for hot flashes suitable for breast cancer patients. Lynkuet is the first non-hormonal treatmentl for hot flashes and sleep disturbances in menopause, which could also be taken by women undergoing hormonal treatment for breast cancer. These patients, as well as those who have history of breast cancer They cannot receive hormone replacement therapy to control hot flashes and sleep disturbances caused by their cancer treatment with hormones, because there is an increased risk of recurrence or the appearance of a tumor.
Unlike other similar drugs, this Bayer development has demonstrated for the first time its possible use in breast cancer patients undergoing hormonal treatment who also show a significant improvement in symptoms and mood (New England Journal of Medicine). In addition, this drug blocks two neurokinins (1 and 3) and the latter prevents serious liver damage that other non-hormonal treatments can cause.
Linkuet has just received approval from the EMA for marketing in Europe and is already authorized in the United Kingdom and Canada. It is still pending approval by the US drug agency.
Asthma without bronchodilators
Release the patient with severe asthma from bronchodilators. Depemokimab is the first injectable biological against asthma type 2 (severe) ultra-long-acting, with a dose every 6 months in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age. It has also been proven that lengthening the interval between doses does not affect the result and improves adherence to treatment. The market launch of this GSK development is imminent following its recent approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Asthma affects 2.5 million people in Spain (10% of adults and 15% of adolescents). Patients with type 2 asthma are usually treated with inhaled corticosteroids to reduce airway inflammation, and in persistent cases, a long-acting bronchodilator is usually added. This biological will improve your quality of life and your dependence on these drugs with a high frequency of intake.
Strep vaccine
Administered to women during pregnancy, this vaccine developed by Pfizer against the six most common variants of group B streptococcus, will prevent the baby from the risk of contracting serious and life-threatening infections such as meningitis, sepsis or pneumonia. This is the first vaccine against this bacteria present in healthy people, without causing problems, but which can infect the baby in the birth canal and cause the disease. In addition, it would avoid microbiological screening during pregnancy and the administration of antibiotics during childbirth, the latter two prophylaxis measures that are difficult to apply in developing countries. The vaccine is in its final phase of study (phase 3) and will subsequently begin processing with the regulatory authorities.
New hair and no gray hair!
In a very incipient phase, this Absci development has already shown very promising results against androgenic alopeciathe most common form of hair loss (80% of men and 35% of women) due to the combination of genetic and hormonal factors.
ABS-201 is a monoclonal antibody designed by artificial intelligence that affects a receptor involved in the hair cycle: prolactin, which had never been considered to combat baldness.
In the life cycle of a hair, the hair follicles enter the dormant phase and, in a normal situation, a new hair grows when the old one falls out. In people with alopecia, the hair remains dormant, but does not “sprout”, something that ABS-201 does achieve, which does not limit itself to stopping hair loss, but also pushes new hair out.
ABS-201 is the result of artificial intelligence. It doesn’t just stop hair loss, it sprouts hair
ABS-201 is the result of a large number of computer simulations that made it possible to optimize the potency of the antibody, reduce the risk of unwanted reactions and shorten development time. The test on primates has not only managed to recover all of their hair, but, unexpectedly, has managed to the new hair is born without gray. This December the first human trial began in Australia. It won’t arrive in 2026, but it is a new hope in hair treatment.
Medications that extend life
Although aging is not recognized as a disease, life expectancy is increasing and medicine aims to extend the years of life free of disease. In this context, some drugs authorized for use in different diseases have been detected that manifest a geroprotective effect on those who are taking them.
These drugs are substances that combat aging and associated diseases, delaying or reversing biological processes, although there are still no drugs with that specific indication approved for humans.
Some examples of drugs with a geroprotective effect and their mechanism of action would be metformin, rapamycin, resveratrol, Glycine + N-acetylcysteine and Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, but their use is not approved for longevity medicine.
