According to the medication producer, the information supports tirzepatide’s long-term advantages.
After three years of weekly injections, Eli Lilly’s weight reduction medication reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 94% in prediabetic people who were overweight or obese, the firm revealed in a statement on Tuesday.
The Indianapolis, Indiana-based business stated that the data is based on the longest-running medication trial and that it supports tirzepatide’s (the chemical name for its Zepbound and Mounjaro therapies) long-term advantages.
The company’s shares increased 1.6% to $936.25 in premarket trading. The huge demand for weight-loss medications has caused the stock to climb substantially in recent years, making Lilly the largest pharmaceutical by market value.
Early findings from the “SURMOUNT-1” late-stage experiment were first made public in 2022. At the time, the medicine was approved by US regulators thanks to research showing it helped obese people lose weight dramatically.
Up to week 176 of the 1,032 adult study, participants receiving weekly injections of the Lilly medication demonstrated a 94% lower chance of developing Type 2 diabetes as compared to placebo.
Concerns about patients gradually cutting back on their usage of weight-loss medications are raised by the results.
Just 1 in 4 U.S. patients who were prescribed Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Ozempic for weight reduction were still taking the well-liked drugs two years later, according to a July Reuters story.
Eli Lilly and its competitor Novo Nordisk have been advocating for the expansion of the usage of their obesity medications to include associated ailments including cardiac problems and sleep apnea.
According to the firm, patients treated with tirzepatide—the chemical name for Lilly’s diabetic medication Mounjaro and obesity medication Zepbound—saw an average weight decrease of 22.9%, compared to just 2.1% for those receiving a placebo.
According to the business, the medications’ safety profile matched data that had previously been released.
