A new drug called Mounjaro (tirzepatide) manufactured by Eli Lilly and shown to dramatically lower excess weight as well as blood glucose in clinical trials, has just been approved for use by America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meaning it is likely to become available in Britain before too long.
It combines synthetic versions of two hormones called GLP-1 and GIP that our bodies naturally release after a meal to make us feel full, and is the first drug of its kind to be approved by the FDA.
Eli Lilly’s 72-week, phase III SURMOUNT-1 trial found that people taking 15 mg of a once-weekly dose of the injectable drug lost 22.5 percent of their body weight. This was the equivalent of three stones 10 pounds among participants with an average starting weight of around 16 and a half stones.
According to Eli Lilly, the trial was a double-blind, placebo study run at multiple centers with 2,539 participants. The researchers compared the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide in varying doses to a placebo.
The people participating in the study had obesity and had at least one other health problem including high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, or cardiovascular disease. No one had T2D. All participants were also required to follow a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity
It has nonetheless been welcomed as “the first new class of diabetes medications in almost 10 years,” by Dr. Charles Alexander, an endocrinologist and the scientific and medical advisor to the American diabetes news website DiaTribe.
“We have known about the GIP receptor for over 50 years, but initial studies led scientists to believe that it would not have any role in the treatment of diabetes. How wrong they were!” said Dr Alexander. “Many people with type 2 diabetes will immensely benefit from this new class of medicines.”
As reported by Diatribe.
