Amid the struggle on weight problems, a transparent winner has emerged in a battle between two weight-loss injectables. Zepbound (tirzepatide), manufactured by Fortune 500 agency Eli Lilly & Co., bested competitor Wegovy (semaglutide), a product of World 500 firm Novo Nordisk, in a latest randomized scientific trial backed by Lilly.
After injecting the medicines weekly for almost 17 months, sufferers who took Zepbound misplaced 20.2% of their physique weight (50.3 kilos) on common, whereas Wegovy sufferers misplaced 13.7% (33.1 kilos), Lilly introduced in a Dec. 4 information launch. As well as, Zepbound yielded a 47% larger relative weight reduction over its rival, and 31.6% of Zepbound sufferers misplaced at the least 25% of their physique weight, in comparison with 16.1% of Wegovy customers.
“Given the elevated curiosity round weight problems medicines, we performed this research to assist well being care suppliers and sufferers make knowledgeable selections about therapy alternative,” Dr. Leonard Glass, senior vp of worldwide medical affairs at Lilly Cardiometabolic Well being, stated within the information launch. “Zepbound is in a category of its personal as the one FDA-approved twin GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist weight problems medicine, and it’s altering how thousands and thousands of individuals handle this persistent illness.”
The trial concerned 751 U.S. adults 18 and older who had both weight problems, or chubby with at the least one of many following medical situations: coronary heart illness, hypertension, excessive ldl cholesterol, or obstructive sleep apnea. They acquired the utmost tolerated dose of Zepbound (10 mg or 15 mg) or Wegovy (1.7 mg or 2.4 mg) for 72 weeks. (No participant had diabetes; Lilly markets tirzepatide as Mounjaro to individuals with Sort 2 diabetes, whereas Novo Nordisk does the identical for semaglutide as Ozempic.)
The outcomes haven’t but been peer-reviewed, nonetheless, Lilly indicated they might in 2025 be revealed in a peer-reviewed journal and offered at an unspecified medical assembly.
Lilly funded the scientific trial, the purpose of which, the corporate stated, “was to exhibit Zepbound’s superiority in p.c change from baseline in physique weight at 72 weeks in comparison with Wegovy.” This shouldn’t essentially increase eyebrows, says Dr. W. Scott Butsch, director of weight problems medication at Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric and Metabolic Institute.
“We should always all the time take a look at the funding supply as a possible bias of the research,” Butsch tells Fortune by way of e-mail. “However this research was well-designed and we must always consider the information.”
What’s extra, the trial outcomes are just like these of a research—not financed by Lilly—revealed earlier this yr within the journal JAMA Inside Drugs, Dr. Holly Lofton, an weight problems medication specialist at NYU Langone Well being, factors out to Fortune. That analysis confirmed that 42.3% of individuals taking tirzepatide, the generic title for Zepbound, misplaced at the least 15% of their physique weight inside a yr, in comparison with 15% of individuals taking semaglutide, the generic title for Wegovy.
Ought to I take Zepbound as an alternative of Wegovy?
Each Zepbound and Wegovy are prescription medicines, so it’s essential to seek the advice of your well being care supplier when you’ve got considerations about taking one over the opposite. They’re additionally not the one weight reduction medicines on the market, and your physician may also help you establish which can be applicable for you, given your weight-loss targets and medical historical past.
And whereas the outcomes of Lilly’s trial are promising, they shouldn’t be your solely consideration in requesting a weight-loss medicine, Lofton says.
“Each medicine exhibit significant weight lack of over 10%, which might enhance or ameliorate many weight associated medical situations,” Lofton tells Fortune by way of e-mail. “Prescribers and sufferers ought to all the time think about security, efficacy, and accessibility of the medicine when deciding which drug is greatest for the affected person.”
Butsch echoes, “From the affected person’s perspective, I don’t assume that these research outcomes will change the general public demand for tirzepatide, nor lead to switching medicines. It reinforces that there are at present two extremely efficient medicines, however so many elements—price, protection, et cetera—which are obstacles to entry.”
For extra on weight administration:
Subscribe to Nicely Adjusted, our publication full of easy methods to work smarter and stay higher, from the Fortune Nicely crew. Enroll at no cost at the moment.
