Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide cuts risk of diabetes by 94% in obese patients

Tirzepatide, currently marketed by Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) as Mounjaro and Zepbound for diabetes and weight loss, respectively, reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% in adults with pre-diabetes and obesity or overweight in a three-year trial.

The SURMOUNT-1 study evaluated tirzepatide in 1,032 adults who had pre-diabetes at randomization and obesity or overweight for a treatment period of 176 weeks, followed by a 17-week off-treatment period (193 weeks in total).

Weekly tirzepatide injections (5mg, 10mg, 15mg) significantly reduced the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes by 94% among adults with pre-diabetes and obesity or overweight compared to placebo.

Additionally, tirzepatide treatment led to sustained weight loss through the treatment period, with adults on the 15mg dose experiencing a 22.9% average decrease in body weight compared to 2.1% for placebo in adults with pre-diabetes and obesity or overweight at the end of the treatment period.

During the 17-week off-treatment follow-up period, those who had discontinued from tirzepatide began to regain weight and had some increase in the progression to type 2 diabetes, resulting in an 88% reduction in the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes compared to placebo.

Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) rose around 1.6% premarket on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk (NVO), which markets the popular GLP-1 med Wegovy, was up 0.47%.