Tirzepatide cut 15.7% of body weight in the group that usually loses least

In a 72 week phase 3 trial of 938 adults living with both type 2 diabetes and obesity, tirzepatide at 15 mg reduced body weight by 15.7%, against 3.3% on placebo. More than 80% of the people taking it finished under an HbA1c of 7%, the usual blood sugar target, and close to 50% came in under 5.7%, which is the normal range.

Weight has always been the harder half of that pair, because people carrying both conditions lose less than people with obesity alone. Tirzepatide is a 39 amino acid peptide that acts on two receptors at once, GLP-1 and the glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, slowing stomach emptying and raising fullness after a meal. Participants averaged 54 years and 100 kg, had lived with diabetes 8 years, and 59% were Hispanic.

What the trial did not measure is what this class will finally be judged on. SURMOUNT-2 ran 72 weeks with body weight and glycated hemoglobin as its endpoints, follow up across these programs is still short, and cardiovascular outcomes remain an open question. Reaching 10 mg or 15 mg also takes months of stepped increases, and where any of it fits belongs with a qualified clinician who knows a person's health history.

Read the full story at Medscape en Español ↗

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