- Published on
Most powerful obesity drug yet: People lost up to 25% of weight in trial
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
Researchers published late-stage trial data for retatrutide, an experimental obesity drug that delivered substantial weight loss. Participants on the highest dose lost an average of 25 percent of their body weight over 80 weeks. After an extension to 104 weeks, the average loss reached 30 percent, while more than one-third of retatrutide users lost at least 30 percent.
The results appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine. Retatrutide also lowered blood pressure, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. More than one-third of participants began with prediabetes, but more than 90 percent of that group no longer had the condition at the end.
The trial began in 2023 and enrolled 2,339 people at 131 sites in 11 countries. Four nearly equal groups received 4 milligrams of retatrutide, 9 milligrams, 12 milligrams or a placebo. Average starting weight was about 113 kilograms, or 250 pounds, and average body mass index was 40.
Subset analyses covered 574 participants with knee osteoarthritis and 243 with obstructive sleep apnea. In the osteoarthritis group, retatrutide reduced knee pain by up to 62 percent. In the sleep-apnea group, it reduced events per hour by as much as 57 percent, showing effects beyond body weight.
The findings suggest benefits beyond weight reduction. Retatrutide also reduced pain and sleep-apnea events while improving blood pressure and cholesterol. This range helps explain the anticipation surrounding the drug among millions of Americans with obesity.
Interest was unusually strong before the data appeared. In June, reports said top health officials in the Trump administration helped arrange special access to the experimental drug for an unidentified 79-year-old in April. The patient was widely speculated to be Donald Trump, then 79, although that identity was not confirmed; the new results are likely to intensify scrutiny and interest.
