The weight reduction effect is up to 23%! LLY.US (LLY.US)'s new diet pill “explosion ground”: patients stopped the drug because the results were too good, and the stock price rose before the market

The Zhitong Finance App learned that a new-generation obesity treatment injection developed by LLY.US (LLY.US) helped patients lose nearly a quarter of their weight in the trial, and is expected to become the most effective weight loss treatment so far.

This late-stage clinical trial aims to evaluate the drug's weight loss effects and the improvement of pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, a complication closely related to obesity. Lilly issued a statement on Thursday saying that patients receiving the highest dose of retatrutide (retatrutide) lost more than 23% of their weight in 68 weeks. According to the results of the patient's self-completed questionnaire, the degree of relief from knee pain of the study participants was over 62%.

Wall Street had previously predicted that the test's weight loss data range was about 20% to 23%, and the knee pain relief would reach at least 50%. Eli Lilly said that the results of this trial exceeded market expectations, and some patients chose to withdraw from the clinical trial because the weight loss effect was too obvious. Boosted by this news, Eli Lilly's stock price rose nearly 4% before the US stock market on Thursday.

Kenneth Custer, president of Eli Lilly's Cardiometabolic Health Division, said in a statement: “We believe retaglutide can be an important treatment option for patients with significant weight loss needs and specific complications such as knee osteoarthritis.”

The latest clinical data is expected to further solidify Eli Lilly's dominant position in the obesity treatment market. According to industry forecasts, the global obesity treatment market will exceed 100 billion US dollars by 2030. Currently, Eli Lilly's weight loss injection Zepbound (tirbotide) has become the best-selling weight loss drug in the world, but the company is still speeding up the development of next-generation drugs to achieve multiple advantages such as improved efficacy, enhanced ease of administration, and reduced side effects.

Interpretation of core clinical trial data

This trial is one of Eli Lilly's series of studies on retaglutide. In the future, the company will also launch more clinical trials on obesity, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and other related complications, and plans to release various research data one after another starting next year.

The mechanism of action of retaglutide is that it integrates the three intestinal hormones GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon, and has a unique advantage over existing treatments such as Eli Lilly's tirbotide. Eli Lilly's research and development capabilities in the field of multi-target intestinal hormone compound molecules are in an industry-leading position, and such drugs have been proven to achieve better weight loss results.

The clinical trial period was 68 weeks, and all enrolled patients were obese with knee osteoarthritis. The pathological characteristics of knee osteoarthritis are knee cartilage wear and degeneration. The clinical manifestations are joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. The onset is closely related to factors such as aging and obesity.

The trial set two dosage groups of 9 mg and 12 mg. The results showed that both doses were effective in reducing heart disease risk marker levels and patients' blood pressure, and some patients completely lost their knee pain symptoms at the end of the test.

However, drug-related adverse reactions still occur: about 18% of patients receiving the highest dose withdrew from the test due to adverse reactions. The most common symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. Notably, over one-fifth of patients in the high-dose group experienced paresthesia—an uncomfortable neurological sensation. Lilly said the symptoms were generally mild and rarely led to patients discontinuing treatment.

Eli Lilly pointed out that patients with a body mass index (BMI) below 35 are more likely to withdraw from the trial, and some patients choose to stop taking the drug because they have lost too much weight.

Daniel Skovronsky, Chief Scientific Officer of Eli Lilly, said during an investor conference call in October: “Not all patients need this powerful weight loss therapy. We think retaglutide is more suitable for patients with significantly higher body mass index or obesity-related complications that require significant weight loss.”