Two trials have now found tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro as a diabetes treatment, to be effective for weight loss. It is likely to be approved later this year.
In a second large study, the drug Mounjaro, now used to treat diabetes, has shown its effectiveness at helping people lose weight.
The drug is not yet approved for weight loss, but likely will be later this year, now that two trials have found it effective with similar side effects as other weight loss medications.
The study, released by drug-maker Eli Lilly on Thursday, showed participants with diabetes lost nearly 16% of their weight over the 18-month trial. The company had already shown that the same drug, generically called tirzepatide, could help people with obesity but not diabetes lose more than 20% of their body weight.
It is generally harder for people with diabetes to lose weight and this is the first drug trial to show such significant weight loss for people with the disease, according to Lilly associate vice president Dr. Nadia Nazir Ahmad.
So far, data on the drug has only been released via a company press release. Ahmad said Lilly plans to release full results at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting in San Diego in June and submit them to a peer-reviewed journal.
What is tirzepatide and how does it compare to Ozempic and Wegovy?
Tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, is approved for the treatment of diabetes.
It is believed to act on obesity in two ways, Ahmad said, by reducing appetite and affecting how the body burns fat.
Semaglutide, the generic name for the drug in both Ozempic and Wegovy, acts only on the first of those and thus appears to be slightly less effective at promoting weight loss, though they have never been compared in a head-to-head study. Lilly is currently in the planning stages for one, Ahmad said
Both semaglutide and tirzepatide are delivered by weekly injection.
The new trial included 938 adults, one-third of whom received a 10-mg dose of tirzepatide, one-third received a 15-mg dose, and one-third a placebo.
Those on the lower dose lost about 13% of their body weight, or about 30 pounds. That compares to nearly 16% weight loss of those on the higher dose, or about 34 pounds, and 3% or 7 pounds among those getting the placebo.
Less than 3% of the placebo group lost more than 15% of their body weight, compared to 40% of the low-dose group and 48% of the high-dose group.
A measure of diabetes severity, A1C also fell in people taking the drug.
Lilly has not said what dose it will request for approval from the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss.
Mounjaro is meant to be ramped up from a low, introductory dose of 2.5 mg to as much as 15 mg per weekly dose. The highest dose costs about $1,000 per month. Wegovy, which is a higher dose of the same drug as Ozempic, retails for about $1,300 a month.
Insurance, including the government’s Medicare and Medicaid, typically covers the cost of medications for diabetes but not for weight loss.
Studies have shown that people tend to regain at least some of the weight once stopping medication. In the new trial, called SURMOUNT-2, Lilly followed patients for four weeks after stopping tirzepatide and found they began to regain.
The company is running another randomized study to look at what happens longer term after people stop the drug.
Side effects of Mounjaro
Tirzepatide and semaglutide have similar side effects. In the new trial, about 20% of people at both drug doses suffered nausea and diarrhea, 12% endured vomiting and 8% had constipation. In the placebo group, 6% had nausea, 9% diarrhea, 3% vomiting and 4% constipation.
Nearly 4% of those receiving placebo dropped out of the trial because of side effects, compared to the same percentage of people on the lower dose and 7% on the higher dose. Overall, a higher percentage of people receiving the placebo dropped out of the trial than those receiving the drug.
Lifestyle changes and tirzepatide
Lifestyle changes remain important while on tirzepatide, Ahmad said, but differ slightly from the typical recommendations.
When appetite is suppressed and the body is losing weight, she said, it’s particularly important to eat a healthy diet and stay hydrated.
“Lifestyle is important with medications that treat chronic diseases,” she said.
Contact Karen Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com.
Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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