A combined image shows an injection pen for Eli Lilly and Co’s diet drug Zepbound and a box of Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk.
Reuters
Eli Lilly and Company The company said on Wednesday its weight-loss drug Zepbound works better than its main rival in reducing weight loss. Novo NordiskWegovy, first of all Head-to-head clinical trials About weekly injections.
The findings suggest Zepbound may be a better weight-loss treatment, helping obese or overweight patients lose an average of 20.2% of their body weight, or about 50 pounds, after 72 weeks in the Phase 3 trial. Meanwhile, Wegovy helped people lose an average of 13.7% of their body weight, or about 33 pounds, over the same time period.
Eli Lilly said that in trials, Zepbound was 47% more effective in relative weight loss than Wegovy. The company added that more than 31% of people taking Zepbound lost at least a quarter of their body weight, while only about 16% of those taking Wegovy lost that much weight.
Individual studies of drugs and Recent head-to-head analysis Health records also show Zepbound is superior to Wegovy in terms of weight loss. A late-stage study of Zepbound shows it can help patients lose More than 22% of their body weight average over 72 weeks, and another study by Wegovy showed that this resulted in 15% weight loss The average is over 68 weeks.
But Wednesday’s data appears to be the most concrete evidence of Zepbound’s superiority, as the trial randomly assigned 751 patients to receive the maximum dose of either drug. The study specifically followed obese or overweight patients with at least one weight-related disease, not including diabetes.
“Given the growing interest in obesity drugs, we conducted this study to help healthcare providers and patients address Make informed decisions about treatment options.
Eli Lilly is still evaluating the study results and plans to publish them in a peer-reviewed journal and present them at a medical conference next year.
The most common side effects of both drugs are gastrointestinal side effects, which are generally mild to moderate in severity.
Zepbound’s greater weight-loss effects are a huge advantage for Eli Lilly and Co, which is competing with Novo Nordisk for a larger share of the booming weight-loss drug market. Some analysts expect the sector to be worth $150 billion annually by the early 2030s.
Wegovy entered the market about two years before Zepbound, which was approved in the United States in late 2023.
Data analytics company GlobalData predict According to November data, Zepbound’s annual sales will reach $27.2 billion by 2030, and Wegovy’s annual revenue will reach $18.7 billion in the same year.
Last year, demand for Zepbound, Wegovy and its diabetes drugs far outstripped supply, forcing Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to spend billions to expand manufacturing capacity for the shots. These efforts appear to be paying off, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now listing all doses of these treatments as “available” Its drug shortage database.
Still, because insurance coverage for weight loss treatments in the United States is spotty, some patients have difficulty accessing these medications.
The effects of treatment vary.
Zepbound suppresses appetite and regulates blood sugar by activating two intestinal hormones (GIP and GLP-1). Wegovy activates GLP-1, but not GIP, which some researchers say may also affect how the body breaks down sugar and fat.
