Eli Lilly weight reduction drug cuts risk of developing diabetes in trial

Eli Lilly’s highly popular weight reduction drug reduced the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes by 94% in obese or obese adults with prediabetes compared with a placebo, in line with initial results from a long-term study released Tuesday. 

The late-stage trial on tirzepatide, the energetic ingredient in the corporate’s weight reduction injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, also found that patients experienced sustained weight reduction over the roughly three-year treatment period. Adults on the best weekly dose of the drug saw a 22.9% decrease in body weight on average after 176 weeks, compared with 2.1% for many who received a placebo. 

Shares of the pharmaceutical giant closed almost 3% high on Tuesday.

The outcomes suggest that Eli Lilly’s treatment could meaningfully delay a possible diagnosis for individuals with prediabetes, or those with blood sugar levels which might be higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes. 

Greater than 1 in 3 Americans have prediabetes, in line with the newest government data, which health experts say will be reversed with lifestyle changes akin to food regimen and exercise. People who find themselves obese or have obesity are at a better risk for prediabetes. 

The brand new data also shows the potential long-term health advantages of taking a buzzy class of obesity and diabetes medications called GLP-1s, which mimic hormones produced within the gut to tamp down appetite and regulate blood sugar. As Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro and injections from rival Novo Nordisk have skyrocketed in popularity over the past two years, the businesses have raced to review other clinical uses for his or her drugs.

The outcomes are “one other reminder of the large investment which Lilly has made to prove not only do you drop pounds but while you do on this medicine, it converts to health advantages. That is our fourth study this yr that does such a thing,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told CNBC in an interview, adding that tirzepatide has shown promise as a treatment for heart failure, sleep apnea and fatty liver disease in three other clinical trials.

Eli Lilly tested tirzepatide in greater than 1,000 adults over 176 weeks within the phase three trial, followed by a 17-week period where patients stopped treatment. It’s the longest accomplished study on the drug thus far, in line with the corporate. 

The drugmaker will submit the newest results to a peer-reviewed journal and present them at an upcoming medical conference in November. Eli Lilly published 72-week weight reduction results on a bigger group of patients from the identical trial, called SUMOUNT-1, back in 2022. 

Patients within the trial who stopped taking tirzepatide through the 17 weeks began to regain weight and saw a rise in progression to diabetes. But those participants still had an 88% lower risk of developing diabetes compared with a placebo, in line with the newest phase three results.

“On the drug, we are able to keep healthy body weight down for 3 years and ward off diabetes,” Ricks told CNBC. “Once you come of the drug, a percentage of individuals do begin to realize weight after which…begin the advance again toward diabetes.” 

Still, Ricks noted that patients don’t “snap all the way in which back as in the event that they were never on the drug.”

The protection data on tirzepatide through the trial was consistent with previous studies on the drug, in line with Eli Lilly. Probably the most common unwanted side effects were gastrointestinal, akin to diarrhea, nausea, constipation and vomiting, and were generally mild to moderate in severity.

Eli Lilly’s Zepbound works by imitating two naturally produced gut hormones called GLP-1 and GIP. 

GLP helps reduce food intake and appetite. GIP, which also suppresses appetite, may additionally improve how the body breaks down sugar and fat.