The blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro is more practical for weight loss than one other highly popular diabetes treatment, Ozempic, in chubby or obese adults, according to a large evaluation of real-world data published Monday.
Patients taking Eli Lilly‘s Mounjaro were significantly more likely to lose 5%, 10% and 15% of their body weight overall and saw larger reductions in body weight after three months, six months and a 12 months compared with those on Novo Nordisk‘s Ozempic within the study by Truveta Research. The firm compiles and analyzes patient data from a collective of health-care systems.
The outcomes come as each drugs and similar treatments approved for weight loss soar in demand within the U.S. for their ability to help patients shed unwanted kilos over time. Mounjaro and Ozempic are only approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, but many individuals use the weekly injections off-label to lose weight.
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly said the corporate doesn’t promote or encourage off-label use of any of its medicines and noted that the brand new study was not sponsored by the drugmaker. Novo Nordisk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the brand new study.
Previous head-to-head studies have similarly suggested that Mounjaro is more practical than Ozempic for weight loss and controlling blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes.
But Monday’s study confirms Mounjaro’s edge over Ozempic in a real-world setting, specifically amongst adults who’re chubby or obese. Notably, head-to-head clinical trials in that population aren’t yet available, according to Truveta Research.
Eli Lilly is pitting the weight loss counterparts to Mounjaro and Ozempic in an ongoing clinical trial in obese or chubby patients. But results on the drugs, that are Eli Lilly’s newly approved Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, won’t be released until 2025.
“We have been able to compare the head-to-head efficacy of those two necessary medications for weight loss upfront of randomized clinical trials,” said Dr. Nick Stucky, an creator of the study and vice chairman of Truveta Research, in a press release. “This study can assist to inform patient care and outcomes today, not months from now.”
Study results on Mounjaro and Ozempic
Truveta Research specifically examined health-care data on roughly 18,000 adults who’re chubby or obese and first began taking Mounjaro or Ozempic between May 2022 and September 2023. Nearly 52% of those patients had Type 2 diabetes.
Researchers found that patients taking Mounjaro were 3 times more likely to lose 15% of their weight than those on Ozempic. Patients on Mounjaro were also 2.6 times more likely to achieve 10% weight loss and 1.8 times more likely to lose 5% of their weight.
Those taking Mounjaro also experienced “significantly larger reductions” in body weight at specific time points, according to Truveta Research.
At three months, patients on Mounjaro lost 5.9% of their weight, while those on Ozempic lost 3.6%. At six months, people taking Mounjaro lost 10.1% of their weight, while patients on Ozempic lost 5.9%. And at one 12 months, those on Mounjaro lost 15.2% of their weight, while those on Ozempic lost 7.9%.
Truveta Research also found that patients without Type 2 diabetes lost more weight than those with the condition. However the differences in effectiveness between Mounjaro and Ozempic were similar in each populations.
Rates of antagonistic gastrointestinal events were similar between patients taking Mounjaro and Ozempic.
The massive difference between the weekly injections
Mounjaro and Ozempic, together with their weight loss counterparts, are each weekly injections that change the best way patients eat and lead to decreased appetite by mimicking certain hormones within the gut.
Ozempic and Wegovy only mimic one hunger-regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, also referred to as GLP-1, which increases the sensation of fullness and lowers blood sugar levels.
Meanwhile, Mounjaro and Zepbound mimic GLP-1 and one other hormone within the gut called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP.
The twin approach implies that Mounjaro and Zepbound have an enhanced effect on regulating appetite and blood sugar levels, which some experts say could potentially lead to more significant weight loss than medications only targeting GLP-1.
In Eli Lilly’s late-stage study of greater than 2,500 adults with obesity but not diabetes, those taking 5 milligrams of Zepbound for 72 weeks lost about 16% of their body weight on average. Higher doses of the drug were related to much more weight loss, with a 15-milligram dose leading to 22.5% weight loss on average.
Greater than 2 in 5 adults have obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health.
About 1 in 11 adults have severe obesity.
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