2023-04-28 09:32:36
The American pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly published the results of a new clinical trial on Thursday. The study confirms that the molecule tirzepatide, for the moment approved in the United States once morest diabetes only, helped in weight loss.
The results pave the way for a possible future authorization of this drug by the American Medicines Agency (FDA) for obese people. The study was conducted on more than 900 participants who were overweight or obese and had type 2 diabetes (the most common). The treatment is taken once a week in the form of an injection.
A treatment originally planned for diabetes
People who received the highest dosage lost an average of 15.6 kg over a year and a half. Side effects were usually gastrointestinal issues. A first clinical trial had been conducted on obese or overweight people who did not suffer from diabetes. The results, published in June 2021, showed an even greater weight loss of around 21%.
Tirzepatide mimics a gastrointestinal hormone (GLP-1), which affects appetite regulation in the brain. It has already been sold in the United States under the name Mounjaro for people with type 2 diabetes since May 2022. Some doctors already prescribe it, without its authorization, to non-diabetics wishing to lose weight.
The risk of drug diversion
Treatments using GLP-1 analogues represent a real hope, because they lead to much greater weight loss than currently available drugs. The commercial stakes are considerable for pharmaceutical groups: the global market for obesity treatments might represent 54 billion dollars by 2030.
In the United States, the Novo Nordisk laboratory is already marketing a new treatment, called Wegovy, and authorized by the FDA once morest obesity since June 2021. Its counterpart authorized once morest diabetes, Ozempic, recently experienced periodic stock shortages following having is all the rage on social media for its slimming properties. Experts are concerned, however, that people who are not overweight make misuse of it to lose a few pounds.
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