Eli Lilly Weight Loss Drug Shows Impressive Results in Trial

Are you familiar with the term “triple agonist”? If you aren’t now, it might be one to file away for later use, in much the same way that GLP-1 has entered into the broader lexicon. (Actually, there’s another reason to associate these two terms, but we’ll get to that shortly.) This week, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly shared the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial for the drug retatrutide, which is used to treat patients with both obesity and knee osteoarthritis.

Eli Lilly’s announcement of the results describes this drug as a “GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist” which is used to both spark weight loss and reduce pain in the people taking it. As Gina Kolata of The New York Times explained, this new drug is “sort of a souped-up GLP-1” which addresses three different types of hormones.

According to the results of the trial, 58.6% of the group who were given a higher dose of retatrutide at least 25% weight loss, with 23.7% experiencing at least 35% weight loss. They also experienced an increase in physical function and an significant decrease in pain.

In the coming year, we should see even more results of similar clinical trials. “With seven additional Phase 3 readouts expected in 2026, we believe retatrutide could become an important option for patients with significant weight loss needs and certain complications, including knee osteoarthritis,” Kenneth Custer, Ph.D. of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in a statement.

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As encouraging as they are, we should have more details about these initial results before long. The Times reports that additional details about this trial will be shared and eventually published in the pages of a scientific journal. There’s also the question of why expanding the number of conditions this drug is intended to address makes it significantly more efferctive at helping people lose weight — another subject well worth exploring.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…