🤰 New obesity drug delivers highest weight loss yet in clinical trial

🤰 New obesity drug delivers highest weight loss yet in clinical trial

Patients on the highest dose lost an average of 23.7 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks. The drug also reduced knee arthritis pain by up to 62.6 percent. More than one in eight patients who took the drug became completely free of knee pain by the end of the trial.

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  • Patients on the highest dose lost an average of 23.7 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks.
  • The drug also reduced knee arthritis pain by up to 62.6 percent.
  • More than one in eight patients who took the drug became completely free of knee pain by the end of the trial.

How the drug works

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced that their obesity drug retatrutide delivered the highest weight loss yet measured in a phase 3 trial. The drug also reduced pain from knee arthritis.

Retatrutide is called the "triple G" drug because it mimics three hunger hormones: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Existing treatments mimic only one or two of these hormones. Eli Lilly's current weight loss injection Zepbound mimics GLP-1 and GIP. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy mimics only GLP-1.

By affecting three hormones instead of one or two, retatrutide appears to have a more potent effect on appetite and satiety than other treatments.

Results from the trial

Patients with obesity and knee arthritis who received the highest dose lost an average of 23.7 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks. This applies when all participants are included, including those who discontinued treatment. Among patients who completed treatment, weight loss averaged 28.7 percent.

Eli Lilly stated that some patients lost so much weight that they chose to leave the trial.

Doctor Caroline Apovian, who leads the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said there is now a drug that matches the weight loss effects of surgery.

Apovian noted that Eli Lilly appears to be positioning the drug strategically for people with severe obesity, meaning a BMI above 35 or 40. The company stated that 84 percent of patients in the trial had a BMI above these levels.

Pain relief for knee arthritis

The trial also showed that retatrutide reduced pain from knee arthritis by up to 62.6 percent on average. Knee arthritis is a common condition where the joint cartilage wears down and causes pain and stiffness.

More than one in eight patients who took the drug were completely free of knee pain by the end of the trial, according to Eli Lilly.

Apovian pointed out that the results show physical function can be improved in adults with severe obesity.

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