In a late-stage clinical trial, Eli Lilly & Co.’s obesity drug tirzepatide helped patients shed about 21% of their body weight or roughly 50 pounds on the highest tested dose. Results from the trial ranged from an average loss of about 35 pounds or 15% of body weight, on a low dose of the drug, to 50 pounds or 21%, on the highest dose, Lilly said Thursday, April 28th.
Wegovy, a similar drug from Novo Nordisk A/S that tirzepatide would compete with if approved, yields an average weight loss of about 15%. Senior Medical Director for the tirzepatide obesity program at Lilly, Nadia Ahmad, said that the drug would be the first medication in this stage of development to produce such a high level of weight loss.
“That is a breakthrough for the field,” Ahmad said. “It is confirming that we are in a whole new era for the treatment of obesity.” Executives said the results could enable an expedited regulatory path for the drug that the company plans to discuss with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
