The 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes opens today in Milan, and data scheduled for release this week could shape which diabetes and weight-loss drugs American patients hear about next. The meeting runs through Oct. 2 and is expected to draw thousands of researchers and clinicians.
The most closely watched presentations come from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the makers of Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, and Wegovy. Most of the new numbers released so far are company topline results or conference abstracts, not peer-reviewed papers, and none of the new findings change current prescribing guidance.
For households, the practical stakes are clear. Millions of adults already take GLP-1 drugs or are weighing them, and this week's data touch three common questions: whether newer drugs work better, whether they protect the heart, and whether a daily pill can replace a weekly shot.
Retatrutide's Phase 3 Diabetes Data Arrive Wednesday
Lilly will present Phase 3 results for retatrutide, an experimental once-weekly injection that acts on three hormone receptors (GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon), at a symposium on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 8:30 a.m. in Milan (2:30 a.m. ET), according to the company's announcement of its EASD presentations.
In the TRIUMPH-2 trial of adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, Lilly reported average weight loss of up to 49.6 pounds, or 20.8%, and A1C reductions of up to 1.6 percentage points at 80 weeks. Those figures use what Lilly calls an efficacy estimand, which estimates results as if every participant had stayed on the drug.
Retatrutide is not approved. Lilly says it is legally available only to participants in its clinical trials. That matters because products sold online as retatrutide are circulating. A recent case report in the journal Cureus described a man in his mid-30s with type 1 diabetes who developed severe vomiting, high ketone levels, and kidney injury after injecting an online-purchased product labeled as the drug. He also had a Shigella gut infection, and the authors wrote that the product may have made his symptoms worse rather than caused them outright.
"More than a billion people worldwide are living with diabetes or obesity, and meeting their diverse needs requires multiple treatment options based on different mechanisms," said Kenneth Custer, Ph.D., president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, in the company's release.
Later Wednesday, Lilly will show Phase 2 results for eloraTZP, an experimental pairing of its amylin drug eloralintide with tirzepatide, the ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. The company has so far released only Phase 1 figures: 17% weight loss over 16 weeks with the combination versus 10% with tirzepatide alone. Novo's CagriSema also pairs an amylin drug with a GLP-1 drug.
Heart Results for Mounjaro and Foundayo Come with Fine Print
Also on Wednesday morning, Lilly will present SURPASS-CVOT data for Mounjaro in adults with type 2 diabetes and established heart disease. The trial's main results were first reported in 2025 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Mounjaro was non-inferior to Trulicity, with an 8% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
The confidence interval for that 8% figure ranged from 0.83 to 1.01, which crosses 1.0. In plain terms, the trial showed Mounjaro was not worse than an older heart-protective drug, but it did not prove a clear advantage on that endpoint.
The same caution applies to Foundayo, the daily pill approved for weight loss in April, as MedicalDaily previously reported. Its ACHIEVE-4 results in type 2 diabetes, set for Thursday, Oct. 1, showed non-inferiority to insulin glargine. Lilly's reported 16% and 23% lower risks of major heart events also had confidence intervals crossing 1.0.
Wegovy Pill Switching Data Reflect a Common Household Question
Novo Nordisk will present 44 abstracts, according to its EASD 2026 meeting announcement. One of the most practical is the U.S. OCTANE study, which looks at three-month weight outcomes in patients who switched from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to the Wegovy pill. It is scheduled for Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. in Milan.
Switching is a real decision for many families, driven by needle fatigue, insurance changes, and cash prices. MedicalDaily has reported that self-pay channels now make up about half of Wegovy's business. Separately, eligible Medicare Part D enrollees can get certain GLP-1 drugs for $50 a month through the federal Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, which runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
Novo will also present CagriSema data in type 2 diabetes on Tuesday and Phase 2b results in type 2 diabetes for zenagamtide, formerly known as amycretin, a single molecule that acts on both GLP-1 and amylin receptors, on Wednesday.
Company Numbers, Not Yet Independent Proof
Most results previewed so far are company-funded trial data or abstracts. Novo notes that abstracts contain preliminary data that may change in final publications. Full methods, side effect rates, and dropout details are often missing from topline releases, and independent researchers have not yet reviewed complete datasets for the newer trials.
The strongest takeaways are narrow. Retatrutide produced large weight loss in a Phase 3 trial but is not approved. Mounjaro and Foundayo met heart safety goals against established drugs without proving they are better. The Wegovy pill switching data are observational and short-term.
Patients should not change or stop a current medication based on conference headlines. People curious about newer options can ask their clinician whether they qualify for a trial and should avoid unregulated online products. MedicalDaily will report full results as they are presented through Oct. 2.
Key Questions Answered
What is EASD 2026? The 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 in Milan.
Is retatrutide available in the U.S.? No. It is experimental, and Lilly says it is legally available only to clinical trial participants.
Did Mounjaro prove it protects the heart better than Trulicity? No. It was shown to be non-inferior, and the 8% lower risk was not statistically significant.
What is the OCTANE study? A U.S. real-world study of three-month weight outcomes after patients switched from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to the Wegovy pill.
Are these results peer-reviewed? Mostly not yet. The main SURPASS-CVOT results have been published, but most of the new data are company topline results and conference abstracts.
Should I switch my GLP-1 medication now? Not based on these headlines. Talk with your prescriber about any change.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
