An experimental anti-obesity injection helped patients reach new levels of weight loss previously only achievable through bariatric surgery, according to new data from the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.
The new medication, retatrutide, appears to be the most powerful medication of its kind in a wave of injections and pills that have transformed obesity and diabetes management in recent years.
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The drugmaker announced Thursday that results from its phase 3 clinical trial of the product found participants were able to lose, on average, 28% of their body weight over roughly 18 months.
Nearly half of the participants lost at least 30% of their body weight, on par with levels associated with gastric bypass surgery. Those on lower dosages of the medication lost roughly 19% of their body weight.
The results of the trial outpace Lilly’s top-selling weight loss medication Zepbound, which delivered 21% average weight loss in late-stage trials. Its main competitor, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, only reached about 15% weight loss.
Retatrutide might be the next generation of GLP-1 drugs, which first started with Novo’s Ozempic for diabetes management.
GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, which mimics natural hormones that regulate blood sugar and appetite. But retatrutide is different from other medications in the drug class because it also includes GIP and glucagon imitation hormones, which are also critical for metabolic function.
It is not clear why targeting three hormones creates better performance than just GLP-1 alone.
Much of the weight loss from other GLP-1 medications comes at the expense of losing muscle mass, but retatrutide’s unique formula might make it easier for patients to keep muscle.
Health influencer and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman told Gwyneth Paltrow on her podcast earlier this week that retatrutide’s additional hormone profile helps users maintain muscle mass while on the medication compared to other GLP-1s.
At midday on Thursday, stock prices for Eli Lilly had increased by more than 2% from market open following the release of the clinical trial results.
The company is currently facing two late-stage trials of the drug. Depending upon those results, Lilly plans to submit for FDA approval by the end of the year.
