Obesity drug from Eli Lilly helped boost weight reduction to 26%

An Eli Lilly experimental drug helped patients lose about 26% of their weight on average following prolonged use or intensive lifestyle changes, in accordance with results from two studies released Thursday.

It’s the very best weight reduction seen in a late-stage clinical trial thus far, the corporate said. The injectable drug, tirzepatide, alone resulted in as much as 22.5% weight reduction in a previous phase three trial.

The information further bolsters Eli Lilly’s position within the budding weight reduction drug market and establishes the corporate as a formidable competitor to Novo Nordisk, the Danish manufacturer of the blockbuster Ozempic and Wegovy treatments. 

Eli Lilly last month filed for Food and Drug Administration approval of the injection for chronic weight management. Tirzepatide is already approved within the U.S. and sold under the name Mounjaro for the treatment of diabetes. 

Each trials followed adults who were obese or obese with weight-related conditions, but excluded those with Type 2 diabetes. 

One trial, called Surmount-4, evaluated greater than 600 people over two periods. 

Patients took tirzepatide for 36 weeks and achieved 21.1% weight reduction on average. The patients were then randomized to either proceed taking the injection or switch to a placebo for a further 52-week period.  

Those that continued tirzepatide lost a further 6.7% of their body weight on average after 52 weeks. Patients who switched to a placebo regained 14.8% of their weight on average over the identical time period. 

Overall, patients who stayed on the drug lost 26% of their weight on average after 88 weeks.

The findings of the trial “reinforce that obesity ought to be regarded like other chronic diseases where chronic therapy could also be needed to take care of treatment advantages,” Dr. Jeff Emmick, Eli Lilly’s senior vp of product development, said in a press release.

One other trial, called Surmount-3, evaluated tirzepatide in greater than 500 patients who first engaged in “intensive lifestyle interventions” for 12 weeks. That included a low-calorie weight-reduction plan, exercise and weekly counseling sessions. 

Patients lost 6.9% of their weight on average after those 12 weeks. The patients were then randomized to either start taking tirzepatide or a placebo for 72 weeks. 

Those that took tirzepatide lost a further 21.1% of their weight on average, while patients within the placebo group gained back 3.3% of their weight on average. 

In total, patients who engaged in drastic lifestyle changes for 12 weeks and took tirzepatide for 72 weeks achieved 26.6% weight reduction on average. 

The findings from the trial “challenge the notion that patients living with obesity or obese can achieve their weight reduction goals with weight-reduction plan and exercise alone,” in accordance with Emmick.

The general safety of the tirzepatide was just like that observed in previous studies. Essentially the most common hostile events in each trials were gastrointestinal related and customarily mild to moderate in severity.

The outcomes follow groundbreaking data released last month on a unique Eli Lilly drug called retatrutide. The experimental obesity drug helped patients lose around 24% of their weight, setting a recent bar for weight reduction in mid-stage clinical trials.

Eli Lilly earlier this month registered a recent clinical trial that can pit tirzepatide against Wegovy in 700 patients who’ve obesity or are obese with weight-related health conditions. The corporate expects to finish the study in 2025.

The drugs were catapulted to the national highlight in recent times for the dramatic level of weight reduction they may also help people achieve. 

Social media influencers, Hollywood celebrities and even billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk have reportedly used the favored injections to do away with unwanted weight. 

But experts say the medicines may further perpetuate a dangerous weight-reduction plan culture that idealizes weight reduction and thinness.

Greater than 2 in 5 adults have obesity, in accordance with the National Institutes of Health. 

About 1 in 11 adults have severe obesity.