Eli Lilly’s Obesity Drug Performs Well in Two Late-Stage Studies

Eli Lilly announced that its experimental obesity medicine helped patients lose an average of 26.6% of their body weight across two late-stage studies after making severe lifestyle changes or with ongoing therapy, before they ceased using it.

In the clinical studies, Lilly is evaluating the effectiveness of the drug – known as Mounjaro or tirzepatide – in individuals who were overweight but weren’t diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

If the drug is authorized for the treatment of obesity, it is anticipated that it will become a blockbuster therapy and be a crucial growth catalyst for Lilly.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen noted that the data strengthens Lilly’s competitive edge in a progressively competitive market for obesity treatment. Eli Lilly’s competitors in this market include companies such as Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Amgen.

Following the release of the results, the share price of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which sells the weight loss medication Wegovy, fell somewhat.

When compared to a placebo, Lilly’s drug assisted patients in the first research study in losing an extra 21.1% of weight, on average, following 12 weeks of lifestyle adjustments that included eating a diet low in calories and engaging in regular exercise.

At the conclusion of the second study, patients who took Lilly’s medication lost an average of 21.1% more weight than those who took a placebo. The study lasted for 36 weeks.

Patients in the second study lost an extra 6.7% of their body weight before discontinuing treatment with the drug at the conclusion of 88 weeks.

The company stated that both of the trials were successful in meeting their secondary goals, and that the overall safety of the drug was comparable to that found in previous research.

In April, Lilly released a statement saying that findings from a large trial revealed that a high dose of the drug enabled people with type 2 diabetes – and who also suffered from obesity or were overweight – to lose approximately 16% of their total weight.

When administered to patients who were obese or overweight but were not suffering from diabetes, the medicine led to a weight reduction of 22.5%, which is approximately 52 pounds (24 kg). This information was provided by the company last year.

Similar to Wegovy and Ozempic, Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide is a drug that is administered as a weekly injection and modifies the way patients eat and results in less hunger by imitating particular hormones in the digestive tract.

But Wegovy only mimics a single hormone that regulates hunger, known as GLP-1, whereas tirzepatide mimics both GLP-1 and a different hormone known as GIP.

Earlier this month, Eli Lilly enrolled 700 people with obesity or other weight-related issues into a new research trial that would pit tirzepatide against Wegovy. The company anticipates finishing the study by 2025.

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