Ozempic 3.0?
Retatrutide — an experimental drug nicknamed “triple G” — may be your best shot at a slimmer waistline when it becomes available to the public, a study found Monday.
Obese adults who received the weekly injection lost up to 22% of their starting weight after 11 months – compared to just 14% over 15 months for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Researchers from McGill University in Canada reviewed the results of 26 trials, involving nearly 15,500 participants, to determine which weight loss drugs are most effective for obese adults who do not have diabetes.
They investigated 12 medications—three that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for weight loss and nine that have not.
The drugs mimic GLP-1, a hormone the body naturally produces after eating, so users feel fuller for longer.
The analysis found that retatrutide caused the most weight loss – participants lost up to 22.1% of their weight after 48 weeks compared to people who took a placebo.
Eli Lilly’s drug is called “triple G” because it mimics GLP-1, the appetite-suppressing hormone GIP, and glucagon, a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels.
Phase 3 trials are expected to last until January 2026, so the injection won’t be up for FDA approval for several years. The Post reached out to a Lilly representative for comment.
The three FDA-approved drugs in McGill’s analysis were liraglutide (sold under the brand name Saxenda), semaglutide (Wegovy), and tirzepatide (Zepbound).
The review found:
- Tirzepatide, a weekly GLP-1 and GIP drug, produced weight loss of up to 17.8% after 72 weeks.
- Semaglutide, a weekly GLP-1 drug, caused weight loss of up to 13.9% after 68 weeks.
- Liraglutide, a daily GLP-1 drug, produced weight loss of up to 5.8% after 26 weeks.
According to the analysis, a pill form of semaglutide produced weight loss similar to injections.
The FDA approved Novo Nordisk’s Rybelsus semaglutide tablet for adults with diabetes, but not for weight management.
Among the drugs not approved by the FDA, Lilly’s daily pill orforglipron, Lilly’s weekly injection mazdutide and Innovent, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s weekly survodutide showed promise.
Trials found that most pounds are lost early in treatments, with significant weight loss afterward.
Weight loss wasn’t the only benefit – participants’ blood pressure also improved.
Mild gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea and diarrhea, were the most commonly reported side effects.
Notably, eight of the 26 trials reported at least one death for a total of 22 deaths. Seven of these were attributed to placebo.
“The deaths of participants assigned to semaglutide and retatrutide were not considered by the investigators to be related to the trial product,” the researchers wrote in their analysis, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“Investigators in the trials of participants assigned to liraglutide and tirzepatide did not provide additional information about the causes of death and their relationship to the trial products,” they added.
The McGill researchers are calling for more studies on the growing supply of GLP-1, including whether combining the therapies could yield even more benefits.
They noted the lack of head-to-head evidence pitting GLP-1 drugs against each other. Another limitation of their review is that treatment periods varied between trials.
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