New diabetes drug better for weight loss than Ozempic — research

PARIS, France — A new diabetes drug leads to more weight loss and lower blood sugar than its blockbuster rival semaglutide, also known as Ozempic, a review of research said on Saturday.

Tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, is currently approved to treat type 2 diabetes in the United States, Europe and most recently the UK.

However Eli Lilly is seeking to get the drug authorised in the US for obesity, which would put it further in competition with Danish firm Novo Nordisk's semaglutide drug, known as Ozempic for diabetes treatment or Wegovy for weight loss.

After Ozempic went viral on social media earlier this year for its ability to help people lose weight, skyrocketing demand led to occasional supply shortages -- and concerns that people without diabetes or obesity were using it to shed a few kilos.

New research, which is being presented at a conference in Germany and has not been peer-reviewed, suggests that Eli Lilly's newer drug could be even more effective.

The Greek researchers combined data from 22 previous randomised control trials which separately looked at the two drugs, both of which are taken once a week as an injection.

The researchers then used the studies, which covered a total of nearly 18,500 patients with type 2 diabetes, to compare three different doses of both drugs over a period of at least 12 weeks.

Lead author Thomas Karagiannis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki told AFP that for the highest doses, "tirzepatide resulted in an average weight loss that was 5.7 kilograms (12.5 pounds) more than semaglutide".

It also led to a two percent reduction in blood sugar levels compared to the highest dose of semaglutide.

"However, it is also notable