Camurus starts Phase 2b trial of monthly semaglutide depot CAM2056
Camurus says LUNAR-2 will test its monthly semaglutide depot CAM2056 against placebo in 150 people with obesity or overweight. Its earlier data came from 80 people, and the new trial will not compare the depot with weekly injections.
What's new
Camurus dosed the first patient in LUNAR-2, a placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial of its monthly semaglutide depot CAM2056 in 150 adults with obesity or overweight.
Why it matters
A monthly semaglutide could replace weekly injections, but so far the only efficacy data come from an 80 person, roughly 12 week Phase 1b study reported by the company.
What's next
Camurus expects LUNAR-2 results in the first half of 2028. The trial compares CAM2056 with placebo only, so it will not show whether monthly dosing beats weekly semaglutide.
LUND, SWEDEN. Camurus has dosed the first patient in LUNAR-2, a Phase 2b study of CAM2056, its monthly semaglutide depot for people with overweight or obesity, the Swedish company said on 3 November. The trial will test whether one injection a month cuts body weight more than placebo over 36 weeks. Results are due in the first half of 2028, according to Camurus. The study does not compare the depot with weekly semaglutide, so it cannot show which dosing pattern works better.
Inside the Phase 2b obesity trial design
LUNAR-2 is the first mid-stage test of the monthly semaglutide depot, and Camurus describes it as randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled. The company expects to enroll 150 adults with obesity, or with overweight plus at least one weight-related health problem. Participants will be split into three equal groups: a higher dose of CAM2056, a lower dose, or placebo. Treatment starts with a titration phase in which the amount rises in steps. The primary goal is to show that the higher dose beats placebo on mean percentage change in body weight from baseline after 36 weeks. Key secondary goals compare the lower dose with placebo and the two doses with each other, the release says.
Other endpoints in the Phase 2b obesity trial track how many people lose at least 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of their body weight. The study will also record changes in glucose control, waist size, blood pressure and blood lipids, plus quality of life and treatment satisfaction, Camurus said. Safety will be followed through side effects and routine health measures. A 36 week trial of 150 people is a mid-stage test. It can show whether the drug works and help choose a dose, but it is too small and too short to settle long-term safety. Camurus listed the study in the European Union trials register but did not name sites or countries in its release.
| Milestone | When | What was reported |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly collaboration signed | June 2025 | FluidCrystal license for depot versions of Lilly compounds |
| Phase 1b topline results | 10 November 2025 | 80 participants, CAM2056 compared with weekly semaglutide |
| Lilly amylin option exercised | June 2026 | Amylin receptor agonists added to the deal |
| First patient dosed in LUNAR-2 | 3 November 2026 | 150 participants planned across three arms |
| LUNAR-2 results expected | First half of 2028 | Company guidance, not a fixed date |
What the Phase 1b data on CAM2056 show
The new trial builds on a Phase 1b study in 80 people with overweight or obesity, which Camurus described in its November 2025 topline release. That study compared CAM2056 with weekly semaglutide given according to its prescribing information. Camurus said mean weight fell 9.3% by day 85 on CAM2056, against 5.2% on weekly semaglutide, a gap of 4.1 percentage points. That figure came from the dose level that LUNAR-2 will use as its lower arm. The company also said the depot reached in three months a weight loss that weekly semaglutide reached only after five months. HbA1c and fasting glucose fell too, and the effects grew with dose, according to the release.
Camurus said mean weight fell 9.3% by day 85 on CAM2056, against 5.2% on weekly semaglutide, a gap of 4.1 percentage points.
Those numbers need context. The comparison ran for only about 12 weeks, and CAM2056 was escalated faster than weekly semaglutide, so the early gap does not show how the two would compare after a full course. Camurus said the safety and tolerability profile of the depot looked similar to the weekly drug. Its 2025 release added that the cohort with the highest starting dose showed a tendency toward more frequent and more severe adverse events. The most common side effects were mild to moderate, short-lived stomach and gut events, a pattern familiar from GLP-1 drugs that has driven research into nausea and vomiting treatments. All of these data come from company releases, not a peer-reviewed paper.
How FluidCrystal technology stretches the dosing gap
CAM2056 contains semaglutide, the GLP-1 receptor agonist in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for weight management and Ozempic for type 2 diabetes. Both of those approved products are injected once a week. Camurus is not changing the molecule. It is changing how the drug is released after an injection under the skin. The company builds CAM2056 on its FluidCrystal technology, which it describes as commercially validated and already used in marketed medicines, citing its own products Buvidal and Oczyesa. In the Phase 1b study, Camurus said, the depot showed a later time to peak blood level and an extended release profile that the company judged suitable for dosing once a month.
Camurus presents monthly dosing as a convenience gain for people who may stay on obesity treatment for a long time. Chief executive Fredrik Tiberg said in the release that the Phase 2b study would evaluate "higher doses over a longer treatment period" with the aim of further improving weight loss. That is a company aim, not a result. LUNAR-2 compares the monthly semaglutide depot only with placebo, so it will not show whether CAM2056 matches or beats weekly semaglutide over 36 weeks. A head to head trial would be needed for that. The study also will not answer whether fewer injections improve how well people stick with treatment, which needs longer follow up in routine care.
The Camurus Lilly collaboration and what comes next
FluidCrystal also sits at the center of a deal with Eli Lilly. The Camurus Lilly collaboration began in June 2025 and covers long-acting depot versions of Lilly compounds. AllSci reported that the agreement is worth up to 870 million US dollars. In June 2026 Lilly exercised a pre-negotiated option to add amylin receptor agonists, which triggered a payment of 5 million dollars to Camurus, according to the same report. Amylin drugs are a growing class in obesity research, and Lilly is already testing its own amylin candidate, eloralintide, alongside tirzepatide in a Phase 2b combination study. The reports reviewed for this story do not say which Lilly compounds are being formulated under the deal.
The November release names no partner for the monthly semaglutide depot, which remains a Camurus program. The next public milestone is the LUNAR-2 readout, which the company expects in the first half of 2028. Until then, the only efficacy data are the Phase 1b figures from 80 people over about three months. The wider field will keep moving in the meantime. Novo Nordisk plans to present new obesity data at ObesityWeek, including low dose CagriSema results, and several companies are developing oral GLP-1 drugs as alternatives to weekly injections. CAM2056 is an investigational drug and is not approved for any use. Any product marketed online as monthly semaglutide is not CAM2056, which is available only in clinical studies.
Conclusion
Camurus has moved its monthly semaglutide depot into a 150 person, placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial, with results expected in the first half of 2028. The Phase 1b numbers looked favourable against weekly semaglutide, but they come from a short, small study reported by the company. LUNAR-2 will show whether CAM2056 beats placebo at 36 weeks. It will not show whether a monthly injection is better than a weekly one. That question, and long-term safety, remain open.
