Eli Lilly weight reduction drug Zepbound cuts heart failure risks in study

Eli Lilly‘s weight reduction drug Zepbound showed advantages in patients with a common style of heart failure and obesity, based on late-stage trial data the corporate released Thursday. 

The findings add to mounting evidence that Zepbound and other popular GLP-1 drugs have health advantages beyond promoting weight reduction and regulating blood sugar, which could potentially result in broader insurance coverage for those treatments.

Eli Lilly said it plans to submit the outcomes from the phase three trial to regulators within the U.S. and other agencies starting later this yr. 

Shares of Eli Lilly rose greater than 3% in morning trading Thursday.

Patients who took Zepbound were 38% less prone to be hospitalized or die due to heart complications, and fewer prone to need to extend their heart failure medication compared with those that received a placebo, the study found. Zepbound also significantly improved heart failure symptoms and physical limitations, Eli Lilly said in a release. 

For a median of two years, the trial followed greater than 700 patients who’ve heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, and obesity. Some patients also had diabetes.

HFpEF refers to when the guts is unable to pump enough blood to satisfy the body’s needs. Eli Lilly said the condition is linked to a “high burden” of symptoms and physical limitations that affect a patient’s day by day life, including fatigue, shortness of breath and a lower ability to exercise, amongst other issues. 

Roughly 6.7 million adults ages 20 and above have heart failure within the U.S., based on the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Eli Lilly estimates that HFpEF accounts for nearly half of all heart failure cases, and within the U.S., nearly 60% of patients impacted even have obesity. 

The security data on Zepbound was consistent with previous trials studying the drug. Probably the most common unwanted side effects were gastrointestinal, similar to nausea and diarrhea, and mild to moderate in severity. 

Eli Lilly will present the information at an upcoming medical meeting and submit it to a peer-reviewed journal. 

The pharmaceutical giant’s major rival within the GLP-1 market, Novo Nordisk, is already one step ahead. 

Novo Nordisk earlier this yr submitted an application for using its weight reduction drug Wegovy in treating patients with HFpEF. The Food and Drug Administration in March also greenlit Wegovy for slashing the danger of significant heart complications. 

Meanwhile, each Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been studying their respective drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease and fatty liver disease, amongst other conditions. GLP-1s work by mimicking hormones produced within the gut to suppress an individual’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar.

But Zepbound targets each the GLP-1 and GIP hormone receptors, while Wegovy targets just GLP-1.

Correction: The Food and Drug Administration in March greenlit Wegovy for slashing the danger of significant heart complications. An earlier version misstated the month.