Obesity is a chronic disease that results in substantial global morbidity and mortality. In a new study, scientists tested the effectiveness of Tirzepatide in treating obesity.
Tirzepatide is a novel glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. People with obesity, when treated with Tirzepatide, lost about 52 pounds on average.
SURMOUNT-1 was a Phase 3 trial investigating the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide. It enrolled 2539 adults with obesity who were randomized to receive placebo, tirzepatide 5 mg, tirzepatide 10mg, or tirzepatide 15 mg for 72 weeks. The average BMI of participants was 38 kg/m2, and they weighed 231 lbs.
At the end of the research, participants receiving the 15 mg dose of tirzepatide had lost an average of 22.5 percent of their body weight. According to the study’s authors, treatment with all three dosages of tirzepatide led to a significant and long-lasting weight loss.
Most gastrointestinal side effects—nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea—occurred during the dose-escalation phase.
Ania Jastreboff, MD, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Pediatrics (Pediatric Endocrinology) at Yale School of Medicine and the lead author of the study.
She said, “In this study, about nine out of 10 individuals with obesity lost weight.”
“These results are an important step forward in potentially expanding effective therapeutic options for individuals with obesity. Obesity should be treated like any other chronic disease – with effective and safe approaches that target underlying disease mechanisms; these results underscore that tirzepatide may be doing just that.”
Currently, tirzepatide is not FDA-approved as an anti-obesity medication for treating obesity. Tirzepatide was FDA-approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in May 2022 and is now commercially available for that use. The drug trial’s sponsor, Eli Lilly, is working with the FDA on a timeline to approve tirzepatide as a treatment for obesity.
Journal Reference:
- Ania M. Jastreboff et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine, June 4, 2022. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2206038