Monlunabant

Also known as: INV-202

Status

No approved product. Development discontinued. Novo Nordisk scrapped the program entirely in August 2026 after the molecule missed its primary endpoint in a phase 2 trial in diabetic kidney disease, having earlier shown neuropsychiatric side effects in its obesity trial.

What it is

A second-generation cannabinoid (CB1) receptor inverse agonist — a pill attacking appetite outside the incretin system entirely, resurrecting the mechanism behind rimonabant, a drug withdrawn in Europe for psychiatric harms.

What published research measured

The phase 2a obesity trial reported statistically significant weight loss at 16 weeks alongside neuropsychiatric side effects, despite a molecular design intended to keep the drug out of the brain. The diabetic kidney disease trial then failed, and Novo wrote the program off in its 2026 half-year report. The incretin giants could afford to kill a non-incretin bet; the lesson about the mechanism is older than the drug.

Caution

The CB1 class carries a history — rimonabant's withdrawal — that made psychiatric safety the test this molecule never passed.

Source

Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology phase 2a publication, 2025; Novo Nordisk half-year report, August 2026

Sources

No linked primary source is on file for this entry yet.

Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.