Diabetes-turned-weight loss drug Mounjaro helped patients shed pounds nearly twice as fast as its ultra-popular counterpart Ozempic, according to a study released Monday.
The extensive study of more than 18,000 overweight or obese people found that those taking once-weekly injections of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro were able to melt off 15.2% of their weight — compared to 7.9% for those on Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.
There was also a stark contrast in results at the three-month and six-month marks, according to the study by Truveta Research
At the three-month mark, patients taking Mounjaro lost 5.9% of their weight, compared with 3.6% for those on Ozempic, the study showed
At six months, people taking Mounjaro shed 10.1% of their weight, while patients on Ozempic lost 5.9%
Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro patients “were significantly more likely to achieve 5%, 10% and 15% weight loss and experience larger reductions to weight at three, six and 12 months,” than those who took Ozempic, the report concluded.
Over the entire time period analyzed — between May 2022 and September 2023 — researchers found that patients taking Mounjaro were three times more likely to lose 15% of their weight than those on Ozempic.
Mounjaro patients were also 2.6 times more likely to achieve 10% weight loss and 1.8 times more likely to lose 5% of their weight, according to Truveta, which was earlier reported on by CNBC.
The Post has sought comment from Truveta Research, and representatives for Mounjaro and Ozempic.
Roughly half of the patients in the study had Type 2 diabetes, which is what Mounjaro and Ozempic were both originally produced to treat. While Ozempic has yet to nab FDA approval for weight loss, the federal agency green-lit a new version of Mounjaro earlier this month to be sold for weight loss.
Truveta found that the patients with Type 2 diabetes lost more weight than their counterparts without the chronic condition.
The real-world study attributed increased weight loss to the active medications sold under the brand name Mounjaro — tirzepatide, an appetite-suppressing drug, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide.
Tirzepatide functions similarly to the medication found in Ozempic, semaglutide, as they both mimic the actions of the GLP-1 hormone, which the pancreas releases after eating that makes people feel full.
“Tirzepatide appears to provide greater weight loss than semaglutide in this population,” whose participants were, on average, aged 52 and roughly 240 pounds.
However, Mounjaro also contains glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP, a hormone found in the gut that helps regulate bodyweight by stimulating satiety.
A similar conclusion was drawn at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in early October, where researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials that pitted Mounjaro against Ozempic, according to Healthline — and found that Mounjaro came out on top.
Eli Lilly is now testing its “superior” weight-loss injection against Wegovy, also made my Novo Nordisk, which contains a higher dose of semaglutide, in an ongoing clinical trial. Results are set to be released next year, according to CNBC.
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