Study: Weight loss more likely with some drugs than others
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Some weight-loss drugs produce better outcomes than others, a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine found.
Why it matters: The study confirmed that patients on Mounjaro, a drug approved for diabetes treatment, were both more likely to lose weight and saw larger reductions in body weight than patients on Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, which is approved for the same indication.
- Both are in the class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, but they're different drugs. Mounjaro is the brand name for a drug called tirzepatide, while Ozempic is a type of drug called semaglutide.
- The research could be a boon for Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly. The company also produces Zepbound, a tirzepatide specifically approved for weight loss.
What they found: About 82% of patients on Mounjaro lost at least 5% of their body weight within a year of treatment.
- That's compared with 66.5% of patients on Ozempic, according to electronic health records data from nearly 18,400 patients.
- 42% of tirzepatide patients lost at least 15% of their body weight, while about 18% of semaglutide patients achieved the same result.
Zoom in: The study includes patients with overweight or obesity markers evaluated between May 2022 and September 2023.
- 77% of patients included in the research were white, and 70.5% were female. About half of patients had Type 2 diabetes.
- Previous randomized clinical trials have shown similar findings, but this is the first study to do a head-to-head comparison of the drugs' effectiveness for overweight patients.
Reality check: "Both medications are effective for weight loss, and patients have a variety of other factors to consider," like access and insurance coverage, said Tricia Rodriguez, principal applied scientist at Truveta Research and lead author of the study.
- "This information alone is probably not enough for patients to make a decision on which medication is best, but they're all factors to consider and discuss with their physicians."
