Eli Lilly’s retatrutide helped reduce weight in two studies — TIME

Eli Lilly’s experimental drug retatrutide demonstrated significant weight loss in people with overweight or obesity, both with and without type 2 diabetes. TIME reports on the results of two separate studies.

Results for patients with diabetes

A study published in The Lancet and presented at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes involved people with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes. Participants who received the highest dose of retatrutide lost about 18.8% of their initial body weight over a year and a half. In the placebo group, the figure was 5.1%.

About one-third of patients on the highest dose of the drug lost at least one-quarter of their initial body weight, while 3% of those receiving placebo did so. Among participants taking the highest dose, 63% lowered their A1C level below 6.5% while also losing at least 10% of their body weight.

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Data from the second study

Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, included people with overweight or obesity without diabetes. Participants on the highest dose of retatrutide lost about 25% of their initial body weight, while the figure in the placebo group was 3.9%.

Participants with knee osteoarthritis who took the drug reported lower pain scores compared with the placebo group. People with obstructive sleep apnea also reported fewer apnea episodes than participants in the placebo group.

Retatrutide targets three hormones linked to weight regulation: GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon. Side effects in both studies were similar to those seen with other GLP-1 drugs: abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Eli Lilly said it plans to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval of the drug at the beginning of 2027.