What did the Phase III trial of Eli Lilly's retatrutide find for weight loss and diabetes?

Numbers match the citations in the article. A working link isn't proof that a page supports a claim; check the quoted passage and date.

1. 1

   Retatrutide, a Triple Hormone Receptor Agonist, for Treatment of Obesity.

   The New England journal of medicine (Jastreboff et al.)Published Sep 29, 2026Checked Oct 14, 2026

   “For weight-related end points, intercurrent events were handled by a treatment-regimen estimand (intention-to-treat [ITT]). For end points in participants with knee osteoarthritis or obstructive sleep apnea, a hybrid-treatment estimand was applied, with a hypothetical strategy for intercurrent events suggesting treatment failure; ITT results are also reported.ResultsA total of 2339 participants underwent randomization. The mean percent change in body weight in the retatrutide groups was -17.6% (4-mg dose), -23.7% (9-mg dose), and -25.0% (12-mg dose) versus -3.9% in the placebo group (differences, -19.8 and -21.0 percentage points, respectively; PConclusionsIn adults with obesity, retatrutide resulted in significant weight reduction, reduced pain in participants with knee osteoarthritis, and reduced apnea-hypopnea events in participants with obstructive sleep apnea. (Funded by Eli Lilly; TRIUMPH-1 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05929066.).”

2. 2

   Efficacy and safety of retatrutide, a GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon receptor agonist, in people with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycaemic control with diet and exercise (TRANSCEND-T2D-1): a double-blind, randomised, phase 3 trial.

   Lancet (London, England) (Bajaj et al.)Published Jun 6, 2026Checked Oct 14, 2026

   “Baseline mean age was 48·8 years (SD 12·1), mean HbA1c concentration was 7·9% (SD 1·1), mean duration of diabetes was 2·5 years (SD 4·4), and mean BMI was 35·8 kg/m2 (SD 7·0). 490 (91%) participants completed the treatment period on study drug and 504 (94%) completed the study. For the treatment regimen estimand, the mean change from baseline in HbA1c concentration was -1·69% (SE 0·11) with retatrutide 4 mg, -1·86% (0·10) with 9 mg, and -1·94% (0·08) with 12 mg, versus -0·81% (0·12) with placebo, resulting in estimated treatment differences versus placebo of -0·88% (95% CI -1·18 to -0·59) with retatrutide 4 mg, -1·04% (-1·32 to -0·76) with 9 mg, and -1·12% (-1·39 to -0·85) with 12 mg (all pInterpretationRetatrutide showed significant improvements in glycaemic control and bodyweight reduction as a monotherapy in adults with type 2 diabetes that is inadequately controlled with diet and exercise alone, with an adverse event profile consistent with molecules with GLP-1 agonist activity, supporting its potential as an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes.FundingEli Lilly and Company.”

3. 3

   Comparative efficacy and safety of glucagon-like peptide 1 based drugs for weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes: network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

   BMJ medicine (Chen et al.)Published Aug 27, 2026Checked Oct 14, 2026

   “Compared with placebo, weight loss was greatest with retatrutide (-22.10%, 95% confidence interval -25.60% to -18.60%), followed by tirzepatide (-19.28%, -20.39% to -18.16%), and CagriSema (a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide, -17.32%, -19.32% to -15.32%). Conventional GLP-1 receptor agonists showed more modest effects. Similar patterns were seen for waist circumference and lipid outcomes. Treatment rankings suggested a probabilistic hierarchy favouring next generation incretin based treatments, although confidence intervals overlapped for several comparisons. Low certainty evidence suggested higher rates for discontinuing treatment with danuglipron and retatrutide, whereas mazdutide showed better tolerability.ConclusionsIn adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes, next generation incretin based treatments achieved greater weight loss than conventional GLP-1 receptor agonists. Differences in tolerability, limited head-to-head evidence, and residual uncertainty, however, should be considered when interpreting comparative treatment effects.Study registrationPROSPERO CRD420261279841.”

4. 4

   Retatrutide (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaPublished Oct 7, 2026Checked Oct 14, 2026

   “Retatrutide is an experimental drug for obesity developed by the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. It is a triple hormone receptor agonist on the GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors.”