May 21 (UPI) — Eli Lilly said its weight loss drug, retatrutide, helped nearly half of participants in a phase 3 trial to lose more than 30% of their weight.
Many of the people who lost that much weight were on the highest dose of retatrutide for up to two years, but the company said that the weekly injection was effective for weight loss across all doses of the drug.
Retatrutide affects three hormones — GLP-1 and GIP, each of which are targeted by similar weight loss drugs, and glucagon, which none of them targets — and could be best for people looking to lose larger amounts of weight, said the company’s chief scientific and product officer, Dan Skovronsky.
“We haven’t seen that level of weight loss before with these kinds of medicines,” Skovronsky said, referring to a group of drugs that includes Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.
“For some patients, 30% weight loss may be more than what they’re seeking,” he said. “For other patients, that may be what they need to get healthy. So, not everyone will go up to the highest dose level and stay on it for two years.”
The phase 3 trial included 2,339 people who were obese or overweight. They were evaluated after 1 1/2 years or two years having injections.
Those who received the highest dose lost an average of 70 pounds, roughly 28% of their body weight, after 1 1/2 years, with patients who were assessed after two years losing an average of 85 pounds, or 30.3% of their weight, the company reported.
Side effects from the drug were reported to be similar to other weight loss drugs, which include nausea, diarrhea and constipation, and some patients also experienced upper respiratory tract infections and a nerve condition called dysesthesia, the company said.
The side effects were also similar to those seen in phase 3 trials evaluating retatrutide for use against diabetes and a specific type of arthritis.
Eli Lilly has not yet applied to the Food and Drug Administration for approval of the drug for any of the three uses.
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