The American pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly published this Thursday the results of a new clinical trial. The study confirms that the molecule tirzepatide, currently approved in the United States against diabetes only, helped with weight loss.

The results pave the way for a possible upcoming authorization of this drug by the US Drug Administration (FDA) for obese people. The study was conducted on more than 900 overweight or obese participants with type 2 diabetes (the most common). The treatment is taken once a week in the form of an injection.

An initially planned treatment for diabetes

People who received the highest dosage lost an average of 15.6 kg over a year and a half. Side effects were usually gastrointestinal problems. A first clinical trial was conducted on obese or overweight people who did not have diabetes. The results, published in June 2021, showed an even greater weight loss, in the order of 21%.

Tirzepatide mimics a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1), which affects the regulation of appetite in the brain. It is already sold in the United States under the name Mounjaro for people suffering from type 2 diabetes since May 2022. Some doctors already prescribe it, without its authorization, to non-diabetic people wishing to lose weight.

The risk of diversion of the drug

Treatments using GLP-1 analogues represent real hope, as they lead to much greater weight loss than currently available drugs. The commercial stakes are considerable for pharmaceutical companies: the global market for obesity treatments could represent $ 54 billion by 2030.



In the United States, the Novo Nordisk laboratory is already marketing a new treatment, called Wegovy, and approved by the FDA against obesity since June 2021. Its authorized counterpart against diabetes, Ozempic, has recently experienced periodic stock-outs after it was all the rage on social media for its slimming properties. Experts are concerned, however, that people who are not overweight make a diverted use of it to lose a few pounds.

  • Obesity
  • Medicine
  • USA
  • Overweight
  • Diabetes
  • Treatment
  • study
  • Health