On June 6, local time in the United States, the American Diabetes Association announced the test results of a new drug of Eli Lilly: the experimenter lost an average of 26 pounds (about 58.52 pounds). This effect is better than the weight loss drug "Wegovy" that Musk "brought goods" before, and if confirmed, it will become the most effective weight loss drug in history.

Since last year, the diet drug products of many pharmaceutical giants have begun to be popular around the world, and diet drugs have also become the next outlet for fierce competition among global pharmaceutical companies. At present, the top weight loss products are still in the form of injections, which discourages some obese people who refuse injections. Once a company takes the lead in launching diet drugs in the form of oral pills, it will usher in a huge market opportunity.

Robert Gabe, chief scientist of the American Diabetes Association, said that in the future, people may get used to swallowing diet pills every day "like eating vitamin tablets" to achieve the goal of easy weight loss.

Lilly New Drug Trial

Helps patients lose an average of 24% of their body weight

On the 26th, Eli Lilly said at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego that in an interim clinical trial, the company's latest experimental drug called retatrutide helped obese patients lose an average of 48% of their body weight in 24 weeks, equivalent to 58 pounds, at the highest dose. The findings were also published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reviewed by medical peers.

The above results were obtained in the Phase II clinical trial, and if confirmed in a larger Phase III clinical trial (expected to continue until the end of 2025), retaglutide will surpass Novo Nordisk's "Vigway" and Lilly's own "Monjarro" as the most effective weight loss drug in history. At present, most of the popular weight loss drugs on the market can help people lose 15% of their weight in experiments.

Dr. Shauna Levy, an American obesity medical expert and medical director of the Duran Weight Loss Center in New Orleans, said that the new findings of weight loss drugs are "exciting" and that the effect of retaglutide seems to be close to that of bariatric surgery, "We are on the verge of a revolutionary breakthrough and have begun to knock." ”

Experts warn of the risks of taking the drug:

"Early side effects are severe nausea and diarrhea."

Currently, major global pharmaceutical manufacturers are scrambling to develop weight loss drugs to compete for a share of this market. The US financial media estimates that the market size of diet drugs will be as high as $1000 billion, and it will also seriously impact the traditional weight loss industry (exercise and health recipes) that is currently $760 billion.

The success or failure of the diet drug track can be immediately reflected in the stock price: Eli Lilly's stock price has risen 24% this year, with a market value of $4300 billion, becoming the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the United States; Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has seen its shares jump 40 percent in the latest year, making it the second-most valuable company in all of Europe.

There are those who succeed, and there are those who are frustrated. Pfizer announced on the 26th that due to the discovery of elevated liver enzymes in patients in clinical studies, the company will stop developing the weight loss and diabetes drug lotiglipron. As soon as the news came out, Pfizer's stock price fell by 3.68%, and the cumulative decline this year has exceeded 28%, and the market value is less than half of Lilly's.

Chad, chairman and CEO of diet drug company Medifast, said, "Early side effects are severe nausea and diarrhea, and more worrying are side effects that have not yet been studied. He noted that the long-term side effects of weight-loss drugs may take several years to fully manifest.

Chengdu Business Daily - Red Star News reporter Zheng Zhi