The latest experimental GLP-1 from Eli Lilly isn’t just a diabetes drug — it also facilitates weight loss.
Known as “triple-G,” injectable retatrutide levies a triple whammy on the GLP-1, GIP and glucagon hormones, whereas most other drugs on the market only mimic one or two of those hormones.
Eli Lilly’s new retatrutide drug will be joining the ranks of the company’s other popular diabetes and obesity meds, Mounjaro and Zepbound, with an estimated approval sometime in 2027. Katherine Welles – stock.adobe.com Lilly’s other smash hit drugs treat diabetes and obesity separately: Mounjaro for the former, and Zepbound for the latter.
Clinical trials show that retatrutide was able to reduce blood sugar HbA1C, a key metric in diabetes treatment, by 1.9% — roughly the same efficacy as Mounjaro. Unlike Mounjaro, however, it also triggered 15% total weight loss on average within the first 40 weeks.
Regarding the latest findings, Lilly’s executive vice president and cardiometabolic health president, Dr. Kenneth Custer, has said that for many patients with Type 2 diabetes, “it is a struggle to achieve both A1C control and weight loss, since obesity has historically been harder to treat for those with T2D.”
“With triple agonist retatrutide, we set out to make a molecule that could help patients achieve substantial A1C reduction and weight loss,” he continued. “These results support the remarkable potential of this novel molecule for people living with T2D, with up to 2% A1C improvement and a nearly 17% weight loss in 40 weeks of treatment.”
Indeed, it’s potentially good news for the 60% of overweight adults with Type 2 diabetes because diabetes patients typically experience less weight loss than non-diabetic individuals when undergoing the same weight loss treatments.
Not all participants in the trial were obese, and health experts are warning that in some populations, drugs like retatrutide might lead to too much weight loss — with some of those experts alleging that the pharmaceutical industry’s race to develop the drug with the highest weight loss potential might be chasing stock market value at the expense of patient health.
Retatrutide may be one of the most potent weight loss drugs to hit the market. New Africa – stock.adobe.com STAT reported last year that some trial participants had discontinued retatrutide or significantly lowered their dosage out of concern that they were losing too much weight too fast.
Some patients reported shedding 20-30% of their body weight in under a year while taking the drug, and at least one of those patients developed a kidney stone during that time, though the cause was unclear.
Retatrutide is expected to garner FDA approval next year.
The Post has previously reported on the litany of possible health complications associated with rapid weight loss connected to GLP-1 drugs, from malnutrition to “eye stroke,” muscle loss and eating disorders.
Dr. John Batsis, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, told STAT that he’s not just concerned about the next class of weight loss drugs, but that the available options might already be too potent for some patients.
One example: An elderly patient of his, who had been taking one of the drugs, lost so much weight that she became frail. She then fell and broke her hip.
Some severely obese patients could benefit from 20% or greater weight loss, including those who might qualify for bariatric surgery. But for everyone else, including, as STAT pointed out, “the vast majority of people eligible for the drugs,” losing that much weight could be more damaging to their health.
“How much is too much weight loss is unknown, and we really need additional data and need studies to look at that,” Batsis told STAT. “We need to be mindful of how much to push. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.”
