Some patients to score new super-effective Triple G weight loss drug before FDA approval

An unapproved weight loss drug is about to become available to more patients.Retatrutide — also known as “reta” — has been shown to produce dramatically greater weight loss than blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.The experimental drug delivers a triple whammy by mimicking three hormones involved in appetite and metabolism: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon — earning the nickname “Triple G.” Most other weight loss drugs currently on the market mimic just one or two of those hormones.In May, researchers reported that people taking retatrutide lost up to 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks, or about a year and a half.Some participants even dropped out of a clinical trial because they lost too much weight too quickly.For comparison, semaglutide — sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus) — mimics only GLP-1 and has been shown to produce roughly 15% weight loss.Tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, mimics both GLP-1 and GIP and can help patients lose around 20% of their body weight.Retatrutide’s latest trial also found that it lowered A1C levels by up to 1.6%.The drug’s maker, Eli Lilly, says a major aim of retatrutide is to help people with type 2 diabetes both improve blood sugar and lose weight.“It is a struggle to achieve both … since obesity has historically been harder to treat for those with T2D,” said Dr.

Kenneth Custer, Lilly’s executive vice president and cardiometabolic health president.The company plans to submit the retatrutide for FDA approval in early 2027.If approved, the FDA’s review process could take up to a year before the drug hits the market.In the meantime, Lilly is expanding access after reports that a single 79-year-old patient obtained the retatrutide through the FDA’s “compassionate use” program, which allows some people with serious or immediately life-threatening conditions to receive investigational drugs outside of clinical trials.After STAT reported on that case, doctors floode...