Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) on Thursday said its next-generation drug cleared a crucial late-stage trial in patients with obesity, delivering significant weight loss across doses.
News this morning says the results bring Lilly one step closer to filing for approval of the weekly injection, called retatrutide, which works differently from existing shots and pills from both Lilly and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO). It also appears to be more effective than those options.
The highest dose of retatrutide helped patients lose 28.3% of their weight — or 70.3 pounds — on average over 80 weeks, compared with 2.2% with placebo, when evaluating only patients who stayed on the drug.
Roughly 45% of the 2,500 patients in the Phase 3 trial achieved 30% or more weight loss, Lilly said.
The highest dose also helped patients with a body mass index of 35 or above who participated in an extension of the study lose 30.3% of their weight on average over 104 weeks. That BMI threshold puts people at higher risk of cardiovascular complications or diabetes.
While the drug appeared to show higher rates of certain gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea and diarrhea, especially at the highest dose, they were generally consistent with a previous Phase 3 trial of retatrutide in patients with obesity and a type of knee arthritis pain. Some analysts previously said those side effects highlight the speed and strength of the drug’s weight loss.
LLY shares began Friday ahead $15.96, or 1.5%, to $1,057.61.
