Average Weight Loss With Retatrutide Reached 47.4 Pounds in Head-to-Head Comparison With Ozempic

Key Facts

Eli Lilly reported positive preliminary results on October 28, 2026, from the phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-2 trial, which compared the investigational drug Retatrutide with Ozempic injections at a 2 mg dose in adults with type 2 diabetes. After 80 weeks, average weight loss was 44.3 pounds, or 19.5%, with the 9 mg dose of Retatrutide, and 47.4 pounds, or 20.9%, with the 12 mg dose. In the Ozempic group, average weight loss was 20.9 pounds, or 9.4%, over the same period. The company said the trial met its primary endpoint and all major secondary endpoints at week 80, and that the comparison showed statistical superiority in weight change at p<0.001. Eli Lilly shares closed at $1,288.30 on October 28, according to EL7 data.

The randomized, open-label trial included 1,298 adults whose blood sugar levels were not adequately controlled with metformin, with or without an SGLT2 inhibitor. The study randomly assigned participants in a 2:2:1 ratio to the 9 mg and 12 mg doses of Retatrutide, or Ozempic at a 2 mg dose. In addition to weight, week 80 results showed that both Retatrutide doses reduced average A1C by 2.2%, compared with 1.8% with Ozempic. Participants' average A1C at baseline was 8.3%. Kenneth Custer, president of Lilly's cardiometabolic health business, said head-to-head comparisons give patients and physicians a way to see how a potential medicine may compare with treatments currently available and covered.

Tolerability data varied across treatment groups: discontinuations due to side effects were 4.8% with the 9 mg dose of Retatrutide and 7.9% with the 12 mg dose, compared with 2.7% with Ozempic. Diarrhea was the most common side effect reported by the company, at 28.3% and 32.7% with the two Retatrutide doses, compared with 26.4% with Ozempic. Lilly said most side effects were mild to moderate. TRANSCEND-T2D-2 is, according to the company, the first phase 3 trial to directly compare Retatrutide with another drug in the incretin class. Custer said the drug could change the approach to treating diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic conditions if it receives regulatory approval.

Retatrutide remains an investigational once-weekly drug that activates GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptors, and had not received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any regulatory body worldwide when the results were announced. Lilly said detailed results would be presented at a future medical meeting and published in a peer-reviewed journal. The study includes an extension period in which about 650 participants will continue Retatrutide treatment for an additional 24 weeks. The company is also studying the drug in an ongoing phase 3 trial comparing it with tirzepatide in adults with obesity, whether or not they have type 2 diabetes. Lilly is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on October 29, with its investor and media call set to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time.