Lilly’s Zepbound cut risk of diabetes by 94% in obese people

Patients taking Eli Lilly & Co.’s blockbuster weight-loss shot were 94% less likely to develop diabetes in a three-year study that illuminates the long-term health benefits of treating obesity.

It’s the longest continuous study of Lilly’s drug Zepbound to date, the company said in a statement Tuesday. More than 1,000 patients with obesity and pre-diabetes were randomized to receive Lilly’s medicine or a placebo, and followed for just over three years.

Those on the highest 15 milligram weekly dose of Zepbound also lost roughly 23% of their body weight during the 176-week study period, showing that the popular obesity drug keeps working over the long term. Detailed results from the trial will be presented at an upcoming medical conference, Lilly said.

Results from the first 72 weeks of the study were originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022.

“These data reinforce the potential clinical benefits of long-term therapy for people living with obesity and prediabetes,” said Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Lilly.

Lilly shares rose 1.1% in trading before US markets opened. They have gained 58% this year through Monday’s close.

Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk A/S are running a number of studies to convince cost-conscious insurers that weight-loss drugs are worth covering. Novo’s Wegovy was shown to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 20% in a large study last year. In that same study, researchers found the medication prevented diabetes in 70% of patients with heart disease and obesity.

Lilly still doesn’t have data showing Zepbound, also known by its chemical name tirzepatide, can prevent heart attacks and strokes. A five-year study investigating Zepbound’s ability to reduce death and disease in patients with obesity is ongoing and won’t have results until at least 2027.

Tirzepatide is approved under the brand name Mounjaro as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.