Drugmaker says weight-loss drug reduced Type 2 diabetes risk by 94%

Eli Lilly, maker of the weight-loss drug Zepbound, released new data indicating that weekly injections of the drug reduced the risk of progression to Type 2 diabetes by 94% among adults with prediabetes and obesity, or who were overweight, compared to a placebo.

The data comes as new research found a nearly 19% increase in cases of Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. between 2012 and 2022.

Additionally, patients who had a weekly injection of 15 milligrams of the tirzepatide-based drug had an average reduction of 22.9% of their body weight. Those on a placebo lost about 2.1% of their body weight.

The findings come after over three years of study by the drug manufacturer. Previously, 72-week findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022.

"Obesity is a chronic disease that puts nearly 900 million adults worldwide at an increased risk of other complications such as type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Eli Lilly. "Tirzepatide reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% and resulted in sustained weight loss over the three-year treatment period. These data reinforce the potential clinical benefits of long-term therapy for people living with obesity and pre-diabetes."

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Dr. Jayne Morgan, president of medical affairs at Hello Heart, said the new data was "very significant."

"They really were looking at whether or not they could prevent people from transitioning or progressing from prediabetes, meaning you don't yet have diabetes but your glucose or sugar levels are higher than normal but they don't meet the criteria for diabetes. So how do we prevent these people from progressing to diabetes?" she said. "They gave 1,032 people this medication over a period of three years and they were able to prevent the progression of diabetes by 94% in this group of people."

Eli Lilly acknowledged that a 17-week off-treatment follow-up showed that some participants had developed diabetes and gained some, but not all, of their weight back after stopping the injections. Morgan suggested that in order to reap the benefits of this medication, a person might need to remain on the drug indefinitely.

"As we continue next-gen medications moving towards perhaps oral formulations or pills, moving away from these injections, we are hopeful that perhaps we can see some of that ground be regained, but currently these would be lifetime maintenance medications just like taking insulin or taking your blood pressure medication, something that would be maintained for life," she said.

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Eli Lilly says that Zepbound uses hormone receptors to help people who are considered obese or overweight lose weight and keep it off.

However, these weight-loss drugs do have side effects. Eli Lilly noted that Zepbound can potentially cause numerous adverse gastrointestinal reactions.