Another drug may soon hit the market to help battle obesity.
Retatrutide, made by Eli Lilly, is a GLP-1 that, according to a new trial published in The Lancet this week, helped people with Type 2 diabetes lose up to 60 pounds or about 23% of their weight, NBC News reported.
This was the most weight lost in a diabetes trial.
For semaglutide and tirzepatide, diabetic people lost between 10% and 15%, respectively.
The trial had more than 1,110 patients with an average starting weight of 234 pounds and a body mass index (BMI) of around 38. Some took the medication for three weekly doses, while others received a placebo. The trial went on for 80 weeks. More than half of those on retatrutide fell below a BMI of 30, which is the obesity limit.
Endrocrinologist Dr. Susan Spratt, who was not part of the trial, said retatrutide “is truly an advance in diabetes care” adding that it “rivals gastic bypass surgery without the surgery,” according to NBC News.
A separate trial, published in the New Jersey Journal of Medicine, looked at people who are not Type 2 diabetic. They lost about 70 pounds or a quarter of their body weight after 80 weeks. Those with severe obesity lost more — up to 85 pounds or 30% of their weight after 104 weeks.
Side effects included diarrhea and nausea. There were seven deaths during the trial, six taking various dosages of the medication, and one in the placebo group. But investigators said the deaths were not related to the trial, The Independent reported.
Retatrutide mimics the hormone GLP-1. But it is a “triple agonist” that also targets GIP and glucagon. Tirzepatide is a “double agonist” and targets GLP-1 and GIP only.
The hormones help control appetite and blood sugar, according to The Independent.
Lilly has not yet submitted retatrutide to the Food and Drug Administration for approval but plans to do so next year.
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