A groundbreaking new drug that suppresses appetite and boosts calorie burning has been hailed as the most powerful weight-loss treatment ever, according to a major clinical trial. The study indicates that retatrutide, often described as 'exercise in a jab', surpasses popular medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro and is considered 'as good as surgery' for weight loss.
Unprecedented Weight Loss Results
Patients who received a 12mg dose of retatrutide lost an average of more than a quarter of their body weight (28.3 per cent) within just 18 months. This equates to roughly 31.9kg, or 5 stone. Additionally, the drug reduced waist circumference by an average of 9.5 inches (24.1cm).
Over the 80-week study period, 45.3 per cent of participants achieved at least 30 per cent weight loss, a level typically associated with bariatric surgery. For comparison, Mounjaro, currently the most potent licensed weight-loss drug, helps users shed around 20.9 per cent of their body weight over 72 weeks.
How Retatrutide Works
Retatrutide, also known by nicknames such as 'Godzilla', 'reta', and 'triple G', is a triple agonist. It acts on three different hormone receptors to help users slim down. This is two more than Wegovy and one more than Mounjaro, which is already available on the NHS for those with the greatest need. These drugs work by mimicking hormones that regulate appetite and slow gastric emptying. Retatrutide goes a step further by also targeting glucagon, which increases energy expenditure, effectively helping the body burn more calories.
The latest findings come from the TRIUMPH-1 Phase 3 clinical trial, which evaluated retatrutide's effectiveness and safety in 2,339 obese and overweight adults with at least one weight-related illness, excluding diabetes. Alongside weight loss, participants showed significant improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, including bad cholesterol, blood fats, blood pressure, and inflammation.
Safety and Side Effects
The types of adverse events observed were generally consistent with other weight-loss injections, including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and vomiting. Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of both retatrutide and Mounjaro, previously issued warnings after promising early-stage results led to a surge in people trying to obtain the drug via social media. The firm stressed that using fake drugs from unauthorised sources poses a 'serious risk' to health and threatened legal action against sellers.
Dr Kenneth Custer, Eli Lilly's executive vice president, stated: 'The 12mg dose delivered a level of weight loss long associated with bariatric surgery.'
Expert Opinions
Professor Ania Jastreboff, lead investigator at Yale School of Medicine, commented: 'Obesity is a chronic disease, and people living with obesity deserve treatment options that match the complex biology of their neurometabolic disease. It was impressive to see that every dose of retatrutide resulted in clinically meaningful weight reduction for nearly all participants, and people with severe obesity on the highest dose lost on average 30 per cent of their body weight over two years.'
Dr Simon Cork from Anglia Ruskin University added: 'These early results are incredibly promising in showing that we are now truly on the path to combating the obesity crisis. The results demonstrate Retatrutide's superior weight loss effects over all currently available weight loss medications, with side effects similar to those seen with other GLP-1 based medications.'
Future Implications
Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain and author of the Government's National Food Strategy, predicts that one in four Britons will soon be taking weight loss drugs. Speaking at a British Nutrition Foundation conference, he said: 'We're going to get a society where it is going to be possible to choose what weight you are and most people will choose not to be obese or overweight. I actually think we'll end up in a world where you get the pill, whether you like it or not. You get given the pill at 40 as you begin to start spreading, like you do your statin at 50 or your aspirin, and that there'll be a combination of that – society will be on these drugs forever.'
Eli Lilly is expected to apply for permission to sell retatrutide in the UK within months, potentially revolutionising obesity treatment.
