The medicine in the diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people who were overweight or obese lose at least a quarter of their body weight, or an average of about 60 pounds, in combination with intensive diet and exercise, a new study shows.
By comparison, researchers reported Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine, a group of people who also dieted and exercised but then received dummy injections initially lost weight but then regained some.
“This study says that if you lose weight before you start the drug, you can then add a lot more weight loss after,” said Dr. Thomas Wadden, a University of Pennsylvania obesity researcher and psychology professor who led the study.
The findings, which were also presented Sunday at a medical conference, are confirmation that the Eli Lilly & Co. drug has the potential to be one of the most powerful medical treatments for obesity to date, outside experts said.
“Any way you slice it, it’s a quarter of your total body weight,” said Dr. Caroline Apovian, who treats obesity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was not involved in the study.
The injection drug, tirzepatide, has been on the U.S. market since May 2022 for the treatment of diabetes. Sold as Mounjaro, it has been used “off-label” for the treatment of obesity, joining a frenzy of demand for diabetes and weight-loss drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.
There have been shortages for months of all the drugs, which carry retail prices of $900 a month or more.