Eli Lilly Confirms 'Superior Weight Loss' Of Its Next-Generation Obesity Drug

Eli Lilly (LLY) reported late-stage study results Thursday that confirmed the “superior weight loss profile” of its next-generation obesity treatment, retatrutide.

On average, diabetic patients taking a high dose of the weekly shot lost 16.8% of their body weight over 40 weeks — translating to 36.6 pounds. Across all patients, including those who stopped treatment, average weight loss was 15.3%, or 33.3 pounds.

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Retatrutide patients on the two highest doses lost 13% and 14.3% more body weight than the placebo group. That exceeded the best placebo-adjusted weight loss for Mounjaro, which was 10.1% in a study called Surpass-1. Mounjaro is Lilly’s popular type 2 diabetes drug.

“While the overall tolerability and A1C reductions were worse compared to Mounjaro in T2D (type 2 diabetes) patients, weight-reduction and discontinuation rates favored reta, positioning reta as a viable option for T2D patients where weight loss is a primary goal of therapy,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Trung Hyunh said in a report.

Eli Lilly stock closed roughly flat at 917.50.

‘Triple G’ In Phase 3

Retatrutide, also called “triple G” works by mimicking the GLP-1, GIPR and glucagon hormones to stoke further weight loss than its predecessor, tirzepatide. Lilly sells tirzepatide in diabetes treatment under the brand name Mounjaro and for weight loss as Zepbound.

The highly anticipated drug led to A1C reductions of 1.7% to 2%, depending on the dosage, compared to a 0.8% lower A1C among placebo patients. That’s relatively in line with Mounjaro, Huynh said.

But tolerability was “comparatively worse for reta vs. Mounjaro,” he said. Drugs that mimic GLP-1 tend to cause gastrointestinal side effects. In Lilly’s Transcend-T2D-1 study, 20% more retatrutide patients reported nausea and diarrhea compared to the placebo group. And 14% more retatrutide patients had vomiting vs. placebo recipients.

In comparison, those rates were 12%, 4% and 4%, respectively, for Mounjaro vs. its placebo.

But Huynh kept his outperform rating on Eli Lilly stock. There’s a lot of enthusiasm already for the next-gen obesity drug.

“We believe reta is a key pillar of LLY’s growth and margin-expansion story and will demand a premium price given it is likely to be positioned in the more severe patients,” he said. “We model a launch in 2027 and 2030 sales of $4.9 billion.”

Lilly has already reported promising results for retatrutide in patients with obesity and osteoarthritis pain in the knee. Those patients, who didn’t have diabetes, lost up to 25% of their body weight.

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Eli Lilly Stock

Eli Lilly stock edged lower despite the strong retatrutide trial data. Lilly stock has tumbled 6.8% so far this week, nearing its 200-day moving average, as weight-drug prices slide.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) sank 1%, near multiyear lows.

Structure Therapeutics (GPCR) fell almost 3%, while Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) rose a fraction. Both are developing obesity treatments, with Structure reported solid midstage results for its oral drug earlier this week.

Follow Allison Gatlin on X/Twitter at @AGatlin_IBD.

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