Lilly's weight loss drug reduces diabetes risk by 94% in three-year study, says company

Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% in overweight or obese adults with prediabetes after three years of weekly injections, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company said the data came from the longest completed study of the drug, adding it supported the long-term benefits of tirzepatide – the chemical name of its treatments Zepbound and Mounjaro.

The company's shares rose 1.6 percent to $936.25 in premarket trading. The value of the stock has risen sharply in recent years, driven by high demand for weight-loss products. This makes Lilly the largest pharmaceutical company in terms of market capitalization.

Initial results from the late-stage study “SURMOUNT-1” were first published in 2022. The data at the time, which showed that the drug contributed to significant weight reduction in overweight patients, helped it gain approval in the USA.

In the study of 1,032 adults, patients who received weekly injections of the Lilly drug showed a 94 percent reduction in the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes through week 176 compared with placebo.

The data comes amid concerns that patients may reduce their use of weight loss medications over time.

Reuters reported in July that only one in four U.S. patients prescribed Novo Nordisk's Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss were still taking the popular drugs two years later.

Both Eli Lilly and competitor Novo Nordisk are pushing to expand the use of their obesity drugs to include related conditions such as sleep apnea and heart disease.

Treatment with tirzepatide, the chemical name of Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, resulted in an average weight reduction of 22.9 percent, compared with just 2.1 percent with the placebo, the company said.

The company said the drugs' safety profile was consistent with previously published data.