Eli Lilly weight-loss drug Zepbound beats Wegovy in trial

(Sharecast News) - Eli Lilly said on Wednesday that a clinical trial had shown that patients taking its weight-loss drug Zepbound (tirzepatide) lost 47% more weight than those taking Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide). Tirzepatide is a once-weekly dual GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist.

Eli Lilly said that a head-to-head trial with 751 participants found that Zepbound led to a superior weight loss of 20.2% compared to 13.7% with Wegovy.

At 72 weeks, Zepbound beat Wegovy on both the primary endpoint and all five key secondary endpoints in the trial.

Eli Lilly said 31.6% of people taking Zepbound achieved at least 25% body weight loss compared to 16.1% of those taking Wegovy.

Leonard C. Glass, MD, FACE, senior vice president of global medical affairs at Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said: "Given the increased interest around obesity medications, we conducted this study to help health care providers and patients make informed decisions about treatment choice.

"We are thrilled that today's findings showed the superior weight loss of Zepbound, which helped patients achieve 47% more relative weight loss compared to Wegovy.

"Zepbound is in a class of its own as the only FDA-approved dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist obesity medication, and it's changing how millions of people manage this chronic disease."