A new pill could help you lose weight and build muscle – without changing your diet or exercise routine.

Researcher Ronald Evans at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California said the pill is a completely new concept.

Ronald’s company recently began testing the new drug which could be the key to boosting the human metabolism.

This drug has been built to activate the fat-burning genes in the human body.

When tested on mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, their endurance increased and there were no dangerous side effects found.

This is the first phase of the trial and the next is expected to involve humans with Duchenne which is a genetic protein mutation which causes gradual muscle loss and early death.

The new drug could build muscle and help people who suffer from the disease.

While Ronald stresses it is being developed to aid this condition – a safe drug that could improve exercise performance could improve the health of the general population.

This isn’t Ronald’s first dive into a fat-burning drug. In a 2008 study, he found an experimental compound called Endurobol which significantly increased fat burn and athletic performance without much exercise.

The study led athletes to start taking Endurobol to enhance their performances.

Ronald told Bloomberg: “For a lot of athletes, winning is more important than their intrinsic health or the risk they are taking.

“So I guess I’m not surprised they were taking it. They want to win.”

When Endurobol was first trialled on mice, they developed cancerous tumours and initial human trials were stopped due to “serious toxicities”.

Source: DailyStar