Eli Lilly's retatrutide shows efficacy for diabetes, weight management

March 19 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly's next generation obesity drug retatrutide helped significantly reduce A1C levels for people with diabetes while helping them lose weight without a plateau, the company announced.

Retatrutide, which would be Lilly's third obesity drug on the market if the Food and Drug Administration approves it, met both A1C- and weight-reduction goals in a Phase 3 trial of people with hard-to-control diabetes.

The company said the investigational GIP, GLP-1 glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist may offer another option for both diabetes and obesity.

"For many people with type 2 diabetes, it is a struggle to achieve both A1C control and weight loss, since obesity has historically been harder to treat for those with type 2 diabetes," Kenneth Custer, executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in a press release.

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"We set out to make a molecule that could help patients achieve substantial A1C reduction and weight loss," Custer said. "These results support the remarkable potential for people living with type 2 diabetes."

In a 40-week Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for retatrutide, which included 537 participants, the drug showed average A1C reductions of up to 2% and participants lost an average of 36.6 pounds, or roughly 17% weight loss.

In addition to the two primary uses for retatrutide, Lilly said it is evaluating the drug's potential for a host of obesity-related medical conditions, including knee osteoarthritis, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, chronic low back pain, cardiovascular and renal issues, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

The company said that its Phase 3 trial program has enrolled more than 2,000 participants as it evaluates the drug's efficacy.

Full data from the trial results announced Thursday will be presented in June at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, Lilly said, and more results from the overall trial program will be announced and published later this year.

The weekly obesity drug would be Lilly's third such medication, with the experimental orforglipon also showing promise for patients with similar conditions.