Eli Lilly's newest weight-loss drug relieved pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis

By Jaimy Lee

The drugmaker said its "triple G" drug led to significant weight loss and a reduction in pain for patients who have obesity and overweight

Eli Lilly's "triple g" drug helped patients lose about 28.7% of their body weight while also reducing pain associated with knee osteoarthritis in a Phase 3 trial.

One of Eli Lilly's most promising new obesity drugs helped patients lose about 28.7% of their body weight while also reducing pain associated with knee osteoarthritis.

The drug giant's (LLY) stock was up about 1% in premarket trading Thursday after announcing the Phase 3 data for retatrutide, a GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist that Lilly refers to as "triple G."

The study tested two doses of the once-a-week injection in 445 patients with overweight and obesity who also have knee osteoarthritis. About 14% of patients who took the lower dose of 9 mg and 12% who received the higher dose of 12 mg said they were "completely free of knee pain" after about four months based on a pain score called the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.

Retatrutide is key to Lilly's obesity-plus strategy, and the company expects at least seven late-stage trials of the drug to wrap up next year. Many of the drugs that the company has developed for obesity and diabetes are now being tested in a wide range of studies for conditions like alcohol use disorder, chronic low back pain and certain types of liver disease.

Also read: Is GLP-1 the new AI? Drugmaker Eli Lilly joins the $1 trillion market-cap club.

In this trial, the most common side effects were nausea, diarrhea, constipation and decreased appetite. About 12.2% of patients taking the lower dose discontinued treatment, while 18.2% of patients on the higher dose did the same. Investors pay close attention to the rates of side effects and discontinuation when assessing the competitiveness of obesity drugs.

-Jaimy Lee

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