Eli Lilly's Retatrutide Shows Up to 28% Weight Loss in Clinical Trials

Eli Lilly reported that its experimental triple‑agonist drug retatrutide, which targets the GLP‑1, GIP and glucagon receptors, produced dramatic weight‑loss results in phase‑3 studies. In the TRIUMPH‑1 trial of 930 adults with obesity or overweight, participants receiving the highest 12 mg weekly dose lost an average of 31.9 kg (28.3% of body weight) after 80 weeks, and 65.3% fell below an obesity‑defining BMI. A parallel study (TRANSCEND‑T2D‑1) of 537 patients with type‑2 diabetes across the United States, Mexico and India showed that 90% maintained HbA1c below 7% and the drug reduced HbA1c by up to 1.9 percentage points. Additional metabolic benefits included reductions in triglycerides, non‑HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and abdominal circumference, as well as a 60.6% drop in sleep‑apnea severity and up to 73.1% less knee‑osteoarthritis pain. The findings were presented at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific session and published in The Lancet. Retatrutide is not yet approved by regulatory agencies, and Eli Lilly warned that counterfeit versions are already circulating illegally, prompting seizures by Brazil’s Receita Federal and Anvisa at the Foz do Iguaçu border.