Lilly's retatrutide outshines Ozempic on weight loss, blood sugar control in trial

Oct 28 — Eli Lilly said on Wednesday its experimental next-generation obesity drug, retatrutide, outperformed Novo ​Nordisk's Ozempic on blood sugar control and delivered more than double the weight loss in a diabetes study.

The data strengthens the competitive profile of retatrutide, ‌which is widely expected to fuel Lilly's next wave of growth following the success of its Zepbound and ⁠Mounjaro.

In previous studies, the drug has already ​shown a bariatric-surgery level of weight ⁠loss in patients with obesity, likely positioning it to be the most powerful drug ‌in the booming market.

Commonly ‌nicknamed "triple-G", the once-weekly retatrutide activates GLP-1, GIP and glucagon hormone receptors.

Triple-G drugs ⁠are expected to deliver greater weight loss than ⁠earlier generations by combining appetite suppression, blood sugar control and increased calorie burning.

The head-to-head trial compared 9 mg and 12 mg doses of retatrutide with a 2 mg dose of Novo's diabetes drug Ozempic. Lilly said the trial used the 2 mg dose as a comparator since it is the highest approved ‌dose available.

Both doses of retatrutide lowered A1C, a measure of ​blood sugar over time, by an average of 2.2% compared with Ozempic's 1.8% at 80 weeks in the late-stage trial.

Those taking the higher dose of retatrutide lost 20.9% of their weight compared with 9.4% on Ozempic.

"Overall, the data reaffirms retatrutide's differentiated efficacy across weight and glycemic control, strengthening its position as a key long-term cardiometabolic growth driver," said Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham.

Retatrutide also delivered greater improvements than ​Ozempic across certain cardiovascular risk factors.

Ozempic should not be judged solely on weight loss, said Ambre ‌James-Brown, head of ‌Novo's global ⁠media, noting that the highest doses of the diabetes drug have also shown benefits for heart, kidney and liver health.

Lilly plans to seek approval for retatrutide in the US next year. It will present detailed results from the study at a future medical ‌meeting.

In another key late-stage study, ​Lilly is testing retatrutide against tirzepatide, the active ‌ingredient in Zepbound, among ⁠adults with obesity ​with or without type 2 diabetes.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and ​Shinjini Ganguli)

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