Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company, develops a weight loss drug that reduces weight by 20% or more

Eli Lilly and Company (Eli Lilly), an American pharmaceutical company, announced that it was able to confirm weight loss of up to 22.5% in clinical trials of the injectable drug Tilzepatide , which mimics the action of the gastrointestinal hormone incretin . bottom.

Lilly's tirzepatide delivered up to 22.5% weight loss in adults with obesity or overweight in SURMOUNT-1 | Eli Lilly and Company
https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-tirzepatide-delivered-225-weight-loss-adults-obesity-or

Experimental Drug Breaks Record For Weight Loss in Latest Clinical Trial Results
https://www.sciencealert.com/experimental-drug-breaks-record-for-weight-loss-in-latest-clinical-trial-results

Tilzepatide is a drug that synthesizes two incretins, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) , and is an injectable drug scheduled to be launched after clinical trials. GLP-1 is the main component of semaglutide, a diabetes treatment drug, and was approved as a weight loss drug in 2021 in the United States.

At the time of writing, tilzepatide is in phase III clinical trials in 2539 subjects who are not type 2 diabetic but have been diagnosed with overweight or obesity. Subjects were treated with tilzepatide or placebo for 72 weeks and were further supported with a low-calorie diet and exercise.

The doses of tilzepatide were 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg once a week, and significant weight loss was observed during the study period at any dose. Average weight loss of 22.5% (24 kg) was observed in the group receiving the highest dose of 15 mg, 21.4% (22 kg) in the group receiving 10 mg, and 16% (16 kg) in the group receiving 5 mg, while placebo was used. The treated control group lost only 2.4% (2 kg) of body weight.

'Tilzepatide is the first investigational drug to achieve an average weight loss of over 20% in Phase III clinical trials,' said Jeff Emic, vice president of product development at Eli Lilly and clinical researcher.

'The results of the Tilzepatide clinical trial are very exciting, with preliminary data on the level of obesity surgery,' said Scott Caan, head of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, a diet support facility in Washington, DC, USA. It's a weight-loss drug that probably has many other benefits to metabolism. '

Side effects were observed with tilzepatide, and one-third of the treated group experienced nausea and about 20% had diarrhea. Although there were other side effects such as vomiting and constipation, only a few participants discontinued clinical trials due to these side effects.

In addition, GLP-1 -based semaglutide is sold by Danish pharmaceutical company Novonortisk as an uninsured weight-reducing drug under the name 'Wogoby', but in the United States, it is $ 1,300 for a month's prescription. It seems that it is sold at a price of (about 170,000 yen) or more. Therefore, tilzepatide is expected to be very expensive.