Pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT, a strain manufactured by The Akkermansia Company, was shown to help people maintain recent weight loss over placebo in a recent clinical study. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

The findings address an important challenge in obesity management: preventing weight regain after successful weight loss. This issue is especially prevalent among those who achieve significant weight loss through GLP-1 therapies or structured dietary interventions.

In the double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 90 adults with overweight or obesity first underwent an eight-week, low-energy diet designed to achieve a weight loss of at least 8%. Participants then entered a 24-week maintenance phase where they either took a placebo or a daily supplement of pasteurized Akkermansia alongside a diet without calorie restrictions.

Participants who received MucT regained significantly less weight during the weight maintenance period than those receiving a placebo, regaining an average of 1.2 kg compared to 3.2 kg, respectively.

About 40% of participants in the MucT group continued losing weight during the maintenance phase, compared with 5% of those in the placebo group. No participants reported side effects associated with Akkermansia muciniphila MucT.

“Long-term weight maintenance remains one of the greatest unmet challenges in obesity management,” said Willem M. de Vos, PhD, professor and co-founder of The Akkermansia Company. “These findings further strengthen the scientific understanding of Akkermansia muciniphila MucT and its potential role in supporting metabolic health.”

MucT also appeared to preserve insulin sensitivity during the maintenance period, suggesting better overall metabolism following weight loss.

Analysis of adipose tissue also revealed biological changes associated with metabolic function, such as increased activity in pathways linked to energy metabolism alongside reduced inflammatory and immune signaling pathways, suggesting a shift toward greater metabolic activity and a less inflammatory adipose tissue state.