Eli Lilly said on Wednesday that retatrutide beat Ozempic in the first head-to-head Ozempic vs retatrutide A1C study, giving patients on the investigational drug greater weight loss and deeper A1C reduction over about a year and a half. The comparison covered people with type 2 diabetes and put a not-yet-approved drug against Ozempic's highest dose.
Patients on the highest dose of Ozempic lost an average of 21 pounds. Those taking retatrutide lost 44 pounds at 9 mg or 47 pounds at 12 mg, while A1C fell 2.2% with retatrutide and 1.8% with Ozempic.
Eli Lilly and Kenneth Custer
Kenneth Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic, said, "We believe retatrutide, if approved, could shift the treatment paradigm for people living with type 2 diabetes, obesity and related cardiometabolic conditions". Eli Lilly also said retatrutide is an investigational molecule that has not been approved by FDA or any regulatory organization anywhere in the world.
The drug's three-hormone design sets it apart from Ozempic's established GLP-1 approach and from Mounjaro, which mimics GLP-1 and GIP. In this trial, that broader mechanism was matched by stronger results on both weight and blood sugar.
US Food and Drug Administration
Side effects were broadly similar between the two drugs, but more patients on retatrutide reported diarrhea. Constipation was slightly more common among Ozempic-takers, and people on retatrutide had slightly higher rates of dysesthesia.
Eli Lilly expects to submit retatrutide to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval in early 2027. If that filing moves ahead on schedule, the comparison now gives doctors and patients a clearer sense of how the drug may fit alongside existing treatment choices before any approval decision arrives.
The company said retatrutide could be available sometime next year if all goes well. For now, the stronger numbers are early evidence, not a prescription option, and the next real test is whether the results hold through regulatory review.
