People who take the obesity drug of Eli Lilly, Zepbound, lost almost 50% more weight than those who use Novo Nordisk wegovy of their rival in the first study of great success.
The participants of the clinical trials that Tirzepatide took, the medicine was sold as Zepbound, lost an average of 50 pounds (22.8 kilograms) for 72 weeks, while those who took semaglutida or weeping, lost about 33 pounds (15 kilograms). According to the study funded by Lilly, which was published on Sunday at the New England Journal of Medicine.
Both drugs are part of a new class of medications that work imitating hormones in the intestine and brain that regulate appetite and feelings of fullness. But the Tirzepatide addresses two hormones of this type, known as LPG-1 and GIP, while the semaglutida is addressed only to LPG-1, said Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Integral Center for Weight Control in Weill Cornell Medicine.
“Two drugs together can produce a better weight loss,” said Aronne, who directed the study and presented the findings on Sunday at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain.
While Tirzepatide won in what Aronne said that many consider that “an efficacy resistance career” are important tools to treat obesity, which affects approximately 40% of American adults.
“The objective of these medications is to improve health,” he said. “Most people will not need the most effective medications.”
The trial included 751 people from the United States who had overweight or had obesity and at least another health problem related to weight, but not diabetes. Participants received weekly injections from the highest tolerated doses of Zepbound, either 10 milligrams or 15 milligrams, or notebooks, 1.7 milligrams or 2.4 milligrams.
At the end of the trial, those who took Zepbound lost about 20% of their body weight on average, compared to a loss of almost 14% for those who took Wagovy. The Tirzepatida group cut approximately 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) of the waist circumference, compared to approximately 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) with semaglutida. In addition, almost 32% of people who take Zepbound lost at least a quarter of their body weight, compared to approximately 16% of those who take Wagovy, the study found.
Weight loss was approximately 6% lower in men than in women in both groups, the authors said. As participants in both groups lost more weight, they saw improvements in health markers such as blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar levels.
More than three quarters of patients who took both medications reported at least one side effect, mostly mild to moderate gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting. About 6% of the participants who took Zepbound left the essay due to adverse events, compared to 8% of those who take semaglutida.
GLP-1 drugs have become increasingly popular, with at least 1 in 8 American adults that report their use, according to a 2024 survey conducted by KFF, an independent health policy research organization. Zepbound generated $ 4.9 billion in global sales last year. Wegovy brought almost $ 8.8 billion (58.2 Billion Danish Kroner).
Access and affordability have a broader use of drugs. Tirzepatida and Semaglutida were recently eliminated from a drug shortage list by the United States Food and Food Administration. Both manufacturers recently published programs that reduced costs to around $ 500 per month or less, depending on the dose.
Other factors can affect access. This week, CVS Health said that Wegovy will become the preferred option in its standard form, or the list of covered drugs, starting July 1. Zepbound will be excluded.
It is important to have a variety of drugs to treat a disease as generalized as obesity in the United States, said Dr. Angela Fitch, medical director of Knowwell, an obesity care company. It has been discovered that Wegovy reduces the risk of serious heart problems by 20%, he said. A medication can work well for a patient, but not for others.
“We will need to use them all just because we have so many patients who need treatment,” he added.
