Lilly says new weight-loss drug retatrutide outperforms Ozempic by more than twofold

Eli Lilly says its next-generation obesity treatment, retatrutide, produced more than twice the weight loss seen with Ozempic’s highest dose, based on new clinical trial results released Wednesday.

In a phase 3 study of more than 1,000 adults with type 2 diabetes, participants taking retatrutide lost an average of 44.3 pounds on the 9 mg dose and 47.4 pounds on the 12 mg dose over 80 weeks. That compared with 20.9 pounds for those on Ozempic’s top 2 mg dose.

The drug also appeared to deliver stronger cardiovascular benefits, with improvements in cholesterol and blood pressure.

It reduced A1C, a measure tied to diabetes risk, by 2.2%, compared with a 1.8% drop for Ozempic.

Retatrutide is a once-weekly injection that imitates three hunger-related hormones: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.

By contrast, other weight-loss medicines on the market imitate only one or two of those hormones.

Ozempic and Wegovy, both made by Novo Nordisk, work by mimicking GLP-1, a hormone that affects the brain, muscles, pancreas, stomach and liver, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are made by Eli Lilly, mimic GLP-1 and GIP, a hormone that helps control blood sugar by prompting insulin release.

The third hormone targeted by retatrutide, glucagon, helps promote fat burning even while the body is at rest.

Lilly said it intends to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for retatrutide in early 2027.

Novo Nordisk also has an experimental drug called CagriSema, which the company expects to seek FDA approval for by the end of the year.

Neither CagriSema nor retatrutide has been approved by the FDA.

The FDA says any version of these drugs seen online is from the black market and should not be used.

Ozempic and Mounjaro are approved to treat type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy and Zepbound are approved for people with overweight and obesity.

As with any prescription medicine, people should consult a health care provider to determine whether any of these treatments may be appropriate.