US
Lilly's retatrutide beats Ozempic on blood sugar and doubles weight loss in head-to-head trial
In an 80-week diabetes trial, retatrutide cut A1C by 2.2% and helped patients lose up to 20.9% of their weight, more than twice Ozempic's result.
Eli Lilly's experimental drug retatrutide outperformed Novo Nordisk's Ozempic in a head-to-head study of people with type 2 diabetes, Lilly said. The drug lowered blood sugar more and led to more than twice as much weight loss.
The Phase 3 trial lasted 80 weeks. People on the 9 mg and 12 mg doses of retatrutide saw their A1C fall by 2.2 percentage points. Those on Ozempic's highest approved dose of 2 mg saw a 1.8-point drop.
The weight loss gap was even bigger. Patients on retatrutide lost an average of 44.3 pounds and 47.4 pounds, or 19.5% and 20.9% of their body weight. Ozempic patients lost 20.9 pounds, or 9.4%.
How it works
Ozempic works on one gut hormone target. Retatrutide hits three: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. That "triple agonist" approach is why it has drawn so much attention.
The trade-off
Retatrutide caused more stomach side effects. More people quit the trial because of side effects: 4.8% and 7.9% on the two retatrutide doses versus 2.7% on Ozempic.
Retatrutide is not yet approved. Lilly already sells Mounjaro and Zepbound. The new results could make retatrutide its next big player in the booming market for diabetes and obesity drugs.
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