Lilly's obesity drug leads to about 26% weight loss in new studies
Send a link to a friend
[July 28, 2023]
By Bhanvi Satija and Leroy Leo
(Reuters) -Eli Lilly said on Thursday its experimental obesity drug
helped patients reduce 26.6% of weight, on average, across two
late-stage studies after intensive lifestyle changes or with continued
treatment, before they stopped taking the drug.
Lilly is testing the drug, known as Mounjaro or tirzepatide, in the
trials in patients who were obese or overweight but did not have type 2
diabetes.
The drug is expected to become a blockbuster treatment if approved for
obesity, and is a key growth driver for Lilly.
The data improves Lilly's competitive advantage in an "increasingly
crowded" obesity treatment space, which includes rivals including Novo
Nordisk, Pfizer and Amgen, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen said.
Shares of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, that sells the obesity drug
Wegovy, pared gains following the data.
In the first study, Lilly's drug helped reduce patients an additional
21.1% of weight, on average, after 12 weeks of lifestyle changes, which
included a low-calorie diet and exercise, when compared to placebo.
In the second study, Lilly's drug helped patients reduce 21.1% weight,
on average, when compared to placebo at the end of a 36-week period.
[to top of second column]
|
Eli Lilly logo is shown on one of the
company's offices in San Diego, California, U.S., September 17,
2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Before stopping treatment with the
drug, patients lost an additional 6.7% of weight in the second study
at the end of 88 weeks.
The company said both the trials met their
secondary goals and overall safety of the drug was similar to that
observed in previous studies.
In April, Lilly said data from a large trial showed that a high dose
of the drug helped people with type 2 diabetes, who were also obese
or overweight, to lose nearly 16% of their body weight.
The company reported last year that the drug, when given to people
who were obese or overweight but did not have diabetes, led to a
weight loss of 22.5%, or about 52 pounds (24 kg).
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |