Eli Lilly’s amylin obesity drug shows up to 20% weight loss in study
The Eli Lilly Biotechnology Center was shown on March 1, 2023 in San Diego, California.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Eli Lilly It said it would begin final-stage trials on Thursday. experimental amylin obesity drug showed encouraging results in a mid-stage study next month.
The highest dose of a weekly injection, called eloralintide, helped patients with obesity or overweight lose an average of 20.1% of their body weight in 48 weeks. The results support the pharmaceutical giant’s efforts to bring next-generation treatments to the blockbuster weight-loss drug market and solidify its dominance in the segment.
The data increases Eli Lilly’s chances of bringing a strong rival to the particularly angry tycoon’s field. Many industry analysts view substances called amylin analogs as the next wave of obesity treatments that could serve as an alternative or complementary option to current injections that target the gut hormone GLP-1.
Many major pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Roche And AbbVie spent billions of dollars to purchase or license experimental amylin treatments and Novo Nordisk He is developing his own medicine. Novo Nordisk – Eli Lilly’s chief rival in the obesity market – and Pfizer they are also in the middle of a heated takeover battle over Metsera, a potential lunar amylin drug.
Amylin analogs mimic a hormone secreted along with insulin in the pancreas to suppress appetite and reduce food intake. Amylin treatments have a similar effect to GLP-1s like Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro, but some analysts and researchers say it may be easier for patients to tolerate and may help them preserve lean muscle mass.
The lowest dose of the Eli Lilly injection helped people lose 9.5% of their weight in 48 weeks, compared with 0.4% for those taking a placebo. Patients using a two-stage dose escalation, starting with a 6-milligram dose and increasing to a 9-milligram dose, lost 19.9% of their weight in 48 weeks. People who followed a three-stage dose escalation starting at 3 milligrams lost 16.4% of their weight.
According to Eli Lilly, the most common side effects of the injection were mild to moderate gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue; these were observed more frequently in patients taking higher doses of the drug. Patients in groups that gradually increased the dose of the drug experienced fewer side effects.
The company has not yet released detailed data on side-effect rates and how many patients discontinued treatment during the trial. Eli Lilly will present the data Thursday at the ObesityWeek scientific conference in Atlanta.
