The company behind the drug says it has delivered record-breaking weight loss for participants in the trial on par with surgical options.
Eli Lilly and Company, an American pharmaceutical company, developed a once-weekly injection that promotes weight loss by mimicking the effects of natural hormones called incretins. These hormones regulate metabolism and blood sugar after we eat.
The synthetic combination of two incretins, called GLP-1 and GIP, is what the drug is called and is not yet available on the market.
The FDA approved the anti-diabetes medication semaglutide in the US in 2021, the first time in several years that the FDA had endorsed a new treatment for weight loss.
The approval was granted on the back of results that were described as a "game-changer" for weight loss.
In Phase 3 of the trial, researchers found that 2,539 participants who were either overweight or obese had at least one weight-related comorbidity.
The participants received either a placebo or a drug over the course of 72 weeks, along with support to follow a reduced-calorie diet and increase their levels of physical activity.
All three groups saw significant levels of weight loss after they 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217
On the highest dose, participants saw an average weight reduction of 22% of their body weight, while the 10 and 5 dose achieved weight loss of 22% and 16%, respectively.
The placebo group lost less than 2 percent of their body weight. The semaglutide weight loss trials had an average weight loss of 17 percent.
Jeff Emmick, the vice president of product development at Lilly, says that Tirzepatide is the first medicine to deliver more than 20 percent weight loss on average in a phase 3 study.
Lilly says they will submit the results for peer review in the future. The results of related SURMOUNT trials are expected to be announced in 2023.
We already know that the person who takes it does not agree with the person who does not. The average weight-loss results do appear to slightly surpass treatment with semaglutide, and are about on par with the weight loss patients might expect from bariatric surgery, but some participants experienced adverse effects.
Up to one-third of the group experienced nausea, and it was also relatively common. Only a small percentage of participants left the study due to the effects of vomiting and constipation.
If the FDA approves the drug for weight-loss patients, the issue of price could be a barrier to stomaching it. The drug has been submitted for regulatory review.
semaglutide is a weight-loss drug that sells for over US$1,300 per month, and very few patients can afford it.
This could be another case of a potentially brilliant, life-changing medication that many people sadly won't be able to buy if the pricing strategy is followed.
The drugs themselves appear to be great, but Wegovy is expensive, and the others probably will be as well, according to neuroscience and obese researcher Stephan Guyenet.
In the US, Wegovy costs four times more than in other countries. The main question is access.
The results of these medications suggest that we might soon be able to change the treatment of Obesity, a complex and harmful epidemic that has resisted our control for decades.
We stand to improve the health of millions of people around the world if we can ensure equitable access to this new generation of obese medications.
Scott Kahan, the director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness in Washington, DC, told Healio that the data was very exciting, even though it was preliminary.
Cholesterol and heart disease management was transformed by the advent of statin medications, and HIV management was transformed by the advent of antiretroviral medications, if the continued development of tirzepatide and similar agents can portend a sea change in obesity treatment.
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