Obesity, Medical News
Is the new medicine Tirzepatide really effective for weight loss?
Recently the medicine Tirzepatide has been creating headlines for aiding in weight loss upto 20% of body weight in the medical trials. Read to learn more about the medicine and its effects.
Overview
The new medicine Tirzepatide developed by Eli Lilly and Company has been making the headlines for its effect on both type 2 diabetes and obesity.
As we all know how obesity has become a global epidemic in the last few decades and has become a growing health concern for all age groups often resulting in other severe health conditions like diabetes, sleep apnea etc., this medicine is bringing new hope to aid in obesity treatment.
However, there is still much debate whether the medicine is as effective for obesity as it is being presented or not.
While the medicine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for type 2 diabetes treatment (source), it still hasn’t received the green signal as a cure for obesity.
About the Trial
As per the clinical trial details (source), participants taking tirzepatide lost up to 52 lb. (24 kg) in this 72-week phase 3 study.
Tirzepatide (5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg) achieved superior weight loss compared to placebo at 72 weeks of treatment in topline results from Eli Lilly and Company's (NYSE: LLY) SURMOUNT-1 clinical trial, with participants losing up to 22.5% (52 lb. or 24 kg) of their body weight for the efficacy estimandi. This study enrolled 2,539 participants and was the first phase 3 global registration trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide in adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one comorbidity, who do not have diabetes. Tirzepatide met both co-primary endpoints of superior mean percent change in body weight from baseline and greater percentage of participants achieving body weight reductions of at least 5% compared to placebo for both estimandsii. The study also achieved all key secondary endpoints at 72 weeks.
For the efficacy estimand, participants taking tirzepatide achieved average weight reductions of 16.0% (35 lb. or 16 kg on 5 mg), 21.4% (49 lb. or 22 kg on 10 mg) and 22.5% (52 lb. or 24 kg on 15 mg), compared to placebo (2.4%, 5 lb. or 2 kg). Additionally, 89% (5 mg) and 96% (10 mg and 15 mg) of people taking tirzepatide achieved at least 5% body weight reductions compared to 28% of those taking placebo.
In a key secondary endpoint, 55% (10 mg) and 63% (15 mg) of people taking tirzepatide achieved at least 20% body weight reductions compared to 1.3% of those taking placebo. In an additional secondary endpoint not controlled for type 1 error, 32% of participants taking tirzepatide 5 mg achieved at least 20% body weight reductions. The mean baseline body weight of participants was 231 lb. (105 kg).
For the treatment-regimen, results showed:
- Average body weight reductions: 15.0% (5 mg), 19.5% (10 mg), 20.9% (15 mg), 3.1% (placebo)
- Percentage of participants achieving body weight reductions of ≥5%: 85% (5 mg), 89% (10 mg), 91% (15 mg), 35% (placebo)
- Percentage of participants achieving body weight reductions of ≥20%: 30% (5 mg, not controlled for type 1 error), 50% (10 mg), 57% (15 mg), 3.1% (placebo)
The overall safety and tolerability profile of tirzepatide was similar to other incretin-based therapies approved for the treatment of obesity. The most commonly reported adverse events were gastrointestinal-related and generally mild to moderate in severity, usually occurring during the dose escalation period. For those treated with tirzepatide (5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg, respectively), nausea (24.6%, 33.3%, 31.0%), diarrhea (18.7%, 21.2%, 23.0%), vomiting (8.3%, 10.7%, 12.2%) and constipation (16.8%, 17.1%, 11.7%) were more frequently experienced compared to placebo (9.5% [nausea], 7.3% [diarrhea], 1.7% [vomiting], 5.8% [constipation]).
Treatment discontinuation rates due to adverse events were 4.3% (5 mg), 7.1% (10 mg), 6.2% (15 mg) and 2.6% (placebo). The overall treatment discontinuation rates were 14.3% (5 mg), 16.4% (10 mg), 15.1% (15 mg) and 26.4% (placebo).
Participants who had pre-diabetes at study commencement will remain enrolled in SURMOUNT-1 for an additional 104 weeks of treatment following the initial 72-week completion date to evaluate the impact on body weight and the potential differences in progression to type 2 diabetes at three years of treatment with tirzepatide compared to placebo.
Tirzepatide is a novel investigational once-weekly GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist, representing a new class of medicines being studied for the treatment of obesity. Tirzepatide is a single peptide that activates the body's receptors for GIP and GLP-1, two natural incretin hormones. Obesity is a chronic, progressive disease caused by disruptions in the mechanisms that control body weight, often leading to an increase in food intake and/or a decrease in energy expenditure. These disruptions are multifactorial and can be related to genetic, developmental, behavioural, environmental and social factors.
The pharmaceutical company will continue to evaluate the SURMOUNT-1 results, which will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. Additional studies are ongoing for tirzepatide as a potential treatment for obesity or overweight.
The findings have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, so they should be taken with some caution. But the figures seen here, assuming they’re sound, are simply unprecedented for a drug.
The drug has already been approved by the FDA for Type 2 Diabetes treatment (source) but has yet to be approved for obesity treatment.
Bottomline
Recent clinical trial results show once weekly, injectable drug tirzepatide may help people lose significant amounts of weight. However, it has not yet been approved by the FDA and the data has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Experts say that obesity is a chronic condition with underlying biological processes and that it’s possible people will need to stay on the drug long term to keep the weight off. They also say that regardless of method used, successful, long-term weight loss may include both drugs and lifestyle changes.
