Eli Lilly said its experimental GLP-1 drug retatrutide beat out Novo Nordisk's Ozempic on blood sugar control and weight loss in a large study of adults with Type 2 diabetes.
In a head-to-head study, people on retatrutide lost over twice as much weight and reduced blood sugar at faster pace than those on Ozempic, Lilly said on Oct. 28.
The study compared 9 mg and 12 mg doses of retatrutide with a 2 mg dose of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which is the medication's highest approved dose for people with Type 2 diabetes.
Lilly said the 80-week study showed people on retatrutide lowered their A1C, a measure of blood sugar, by an average 2.2% compared to 1.8% for those on Ozempic. Retatrutide users lost an average of 44.3 pounds on the 9 mg dose and 47.4
pounds on the 12 mg dose. Study participants on the lower-dose version of Ozempic lost an average 20.9 pounds, Lilly said.
The most common side effects among retatrutide users were stomach related. People on retatrutide were more likely to discontinue the medication due to side effects than those on Ozempic. Lilly said 7.9% of retatrutide users on the 12 mg dose discontinued the medication due to side effects, far more than the 2.7% of Ozempic users who stopped using the medication.
Lilly already sells the weight-loss drug Zepbound and the Type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro. The company previously said it expects to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for retatrutide before the end of March 2027.
Weight-loss and diabetes drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, commonly referred to as GLP-1s, mimic the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that regulates metabolism. Retatrutide is a triple receptor agonist and mimics three gut hormones − GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Retatrutide beats Ozempic on weight loss, blood sugar control, study says
