- An experimental weight loss drug named retatrutide has helped obese patients living with type 2 diabetes shed up to a quarter of their body weight in an 80-week clinical trial.
- Developed by Eli Lilly, retatrutide operates by mimicking three separate hormones to regulate appetite and blood sugar, delivering average weight reductions of up to 18.8 per cent.
- Nearly three-quarters of participants treated with retatrutide achieved an HbA1c reading of 6.5 per cent or lower, bringing them below the standard NHS diagnostic threshold for diabetes.
- The primary side effects reported were diarrhoea and nausea, and seven deaths that occurred during the trial were ruled unrelated to the treatment.
- A separate trial showed that an amylin-replicating drug called petrelintide helped participants lose over 10 per cent of their body weight with potentially better tolerability than GLP-1 drugs.
IN FULL
Fresh hope for diabetics as new weight loss drug helps them shed a quarter of their bodyweight
