Lilly Retatrutide Doubles Ozempic Weight Loss in Trial

Eli Lilly reported that its investigational drug retatrutide outperformed Ozempic 2 mg in the 80-week Phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-2 trial of 1,298 adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants receiving retatrutide lost an average of 44.3 pounds on the 9 mg dose and 47.4 pounds on the 12 mg dose, compared with 20.9 pounds with Ozempic; average A1C reductions were 2.2 percentage points with either retatrutide dose and 1.8 points with Ozempic. Lilly also reported greater improvements in some cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure. Common side effects included gastrointestinal symptoms, and discontinuations due to adverse events were more frequent with retatrutide, particularly at the 12 mg dose. Retatrutide, a once-weekly drug that targets GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors, is not FDA-approved; Lilly plans to seek approval in early 2027.