Lilly trial finds 25 per cent average weight loss with retatrutide
Participants on the highest dose of the experimental drug lost an average of 25 per cent of their body weight after 80 weeks. The study did not compare it with existing obesity treatments.
Participants taking the highest dose of Eli Lilly’s experimental obesity drug retatrutide lost an average of 25 per cent of their body weight after 80 weeks, according to late-stage trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study involved 2,339 participants at 131 sites in 11 countries. Participants received one of three retatrutide doses or a placebo.
Researchers also reported improvements in knee pain among participants with knee osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea among those with obstructive sleep apnoea, and several cardiometabolic measures. The knee pain and sleep apnoea findings came from subsets of participants.
Retatrutide acts on GLP-1, GIP and glucagon pathways. The trial’s results do not show how it compares with existing obesity treatments, as none were included as a comparator.
The study was not large enough to assess risks of rarer events, including cardiovascular events or pancreatitis. Larger, longer studies are needed to evaluate those risks.
