Retatrutide outperforms Ozempic in Phase III type 2 diabetes trial

Eli Lilly has reported positive Phase III results showing that retatrutide produced greater reductions in blood glucose and substantially more weight loss than Ozempic in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The findings come from the head-to-head TRANSCEND-T2D-2 study, which compared two doses of investigational retatrutide with the highest approved 2 mg dose of Ozempic, also known as semaglutide.

At 80 weeks, retatrutide met the study’s primary endpoint and all key secondary endpoints.

Both the 9 mg and 12 mg doses of retatrutide reduced A1C by an average of 2.2% from a baseline of 8.3%.

This compared with an average reduction of 1.8% among patients receiving Ozempic 2 mg.

Retatrutide also produced significantly greater weight loss.

Patients receiving the 9 mg dose lost an average of 19.5% of their body weight, equivalent to approximately 20.1 kg or 44.3 lbs.

Those receiving the 12 mg dose lost an average of 20.9%, equivalent to approximately 21.5 kg or 47.4 lbs.

By comparison, patients treated with Ozempic lost an average of 9.4% of their body weight, or around 9.5 kg or 20.9 lbs.

Participants entered the trial with an average body weight of 102.4 kg and an average body mass index of 36.8 kg/m².

Lilly also reported greater improvements with retatrutide across several cardiovascular risk markers, including non-HDL cholesterol, triglyceride levels and systolic blood pressure.

Kenneth Custer, PhD, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said the results show the value of directly comparing investigational therapies with established treatments currently used in clinical practice.

He said the findings support the potential for retatrutide to become an important treatment option across type 2 diabetes, obesity and related cardiometabolic conditions if approved.

The most common adverse events across treatment groups were gastrointestinal and were generally mild to moderate.

Diarrhoea occurred in 28.3% of patients receiving retatrutide 9 mg and 32.7% receiving 12 mg, compared with 26.4% of patients treated with Ozempic.

Nausea was reported in 21.2% and 23.8% of retatrutide-treated patients compared with 21.3% in the Ozempic group.

Vomiting occurred in 10.2% and 15.0% of patients receiving the two retatrutide doses compared with 13.2% with Ozempic.

Constipation was reported in 14.2% of patients receiving retatrutide 9 mg, 13.1% receiving 12 mg and 19.8% receiving Ozempic.

Treatment discontinuation because of adverse events occurred in 4.8% of patients receiving retatrutide 9 mg and 7.9% receiving 12 mg compared with 2.7% of those receiving Ozempic.

Dysaesthesia was reported in 4.8% and 6.5% of patients receiving retatrutide compared with 2.7% receiving Ozempic.

Urinary tract infections occurred in 5.8% and 4.2% of patients receiving retatrutide compared with 5.8% in the Ozempic group.

TRANSCEND-T2D-2 is the sixth Phase III trial in which Lilly has reported positive efficacy results for retatrutide.

Detailed findings from the study are expected to be presented at a future medical meeting and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Related Topics and Keywords

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