Lilly’s Tizepatide Cuts Type 2 Diabetes Risk by 94%, New Data Shows

Eli Lilly shared more good news this week about the health benefits of tirzepatide—the active ingredient in the obesity and diabetes medications Zepbound and Mounjaro.

Early results from a three-year clinical study indicate that the blockbuster GLP-1 medication can not only treat type 2 diabetes but may also prevent the condition in people with prediabetes and obesity or overweight. The clinical trial is the longest finalized study of tirzepatide so far.

Tirzepatide cuts the risk of progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes:

• More than 1,000 participants received tirzepatide or a placebo for nearly three and a half years, followed by four months without treatment.
• The treatment group was 94% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to the placebo group. Even after stopping the medication, the participants had a reduced risk of developing diabetes over a four-month period.
• “These data reinforce the potential clinical benefits of long-term therapy for people living with obesity and prediabetes,” Jeff Emmick, MD, PhD, senior vice president of product development at Lilly, said in a statement.

The results also showed substantial weight loss:

• People who took the highest dose and remained in the trial for all three years lost an average of 22.9% of their body weight. People on a 5-milligram dose lost an average of 15.4% body weight, while those taking 10 milligrams lost 19.9%.
• The GLP-1 drugs only work if taken consistently. Once someone stops taking the medication, they may regain weight and see a rebound in appetite and blood sugar levels.
• Once the treatment group stopped taking tirzepatide, they started to regain body weight, Lilly said. Still, they were 88% less likely to develop diabetes than the placebo group during the four-month post-treatment period.

The big picture on type 2 diabetes risk:

• More than 1 in 3 Americans have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with obesity and overweight are more likely to develop prediabetes and diabetes.
• A 2020 study found that people with obesity were six times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those at a healthy weight, regardless of whether they were genetically predisposed to the disease.
• Prediabetes can often be reversed with lifestyle changes, including improved diet and exercise.

Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, are racing to study the health benefits of their GLP-1 drugs beyond helping patients manage their weight and diabetes. Other clinical trials have so far shown that tirzepatide can alleviate heart failure, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease.

Lilly has only shared top-line data—the main takeaways from the study. The full data will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at a medical conference in November.