NYT - Might be a new and improved GLP-1 medicine out there soon

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People with obesity and arthritis taking an experimental obesity drug made by Eli Lilly lost more weight than with any drug now on the market, and they reported relief from their arthritis symptoms, the company announced on Thursday. The drug, retatrutide, is a next-generation obesity and diabetes medication from Eli Lilly, which already sells Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. These drugs catapulted Lilly in November into becoming the first medical company to hit a trillion-dollar valuation.

Arthritis experts said they were impressed by the effects of retatrutide on knee pain, especially added to the significant weight loss in participants. Dr. MaCalus Hogan, chair of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said the results are “a huge step forward in weight loss management and relief of orthopedic pain.” “A tremendous result,” said Dr. David Felson, a rheumatologist at Boston University Medical Center. But he added, most patients with osteoarthritis have lower weights than those in the study. “We need to have data on whether these drugs have the same impressive reduction in knee pain in the majority of knee osteoarthritis patients who are not this obese,” Dr. Felson said.

The clinical trial that found the result lasted 68 weeks and included 445 people with both obesity and knee arthritis. They were randomly assigned to inject one of two doses of retatrutide — nine milligrams or 12 milligrams, once a week, or a placebo. Participants taking the 12-milligram dose of retatrutide lost an average of 28.7 percent of their body weight, or 71.2 pounds. That is more than the average achieved with Zepbound, which results in a 21 percent average weight loss. It was also more weight loss than is typical with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which averages 15 percent.

Eli Lilly added that 23.7 percent of participants taking the 12-milligram dose lost at least 35 percent of their initial weight.