The drug, called retatrutide, is being developed by Eli Lilly. An experimental weight-loss injection has helped people with obesity lose an average of up to 25 per cent of their body weight at the highest dose, according to results from a large Phase 3 clinical trial. Researchers studied 2,339 adults with obesity who did not have diabetes. Participants were given weekly injections of 4 mg, 9 mg or 12 mg of retatrutide, or a placebo.
However, these longer-term results came from a smaller extension group and should not be treated as a two-year comparison with placebo. Eli Lilly funded the research and was involved in collecting and analysing the data. The research has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
A smaller group of 532 participants was followed for a further 24 weeks. Among those who had initially received the 12 mg dose, average weight loss reached 29.9 per cent after 104 weeks.
