Obesity medication tirzepatide reduces body weight and waist circumference regardless of how long the patient has been living with the condition, according to results to be presented during the European Congress in Obesity in Venice, Italy in May.
Tirzepatide was approved by the US Food and Drug (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of diabetes in 2022. However, this drug can also be used to lose weight and by November 2023, both organisations stated that tirzepatide could be used for the treatment of chronic obesity in patients with BMI higher than 30 or BMI higher than 27 and at least one weight-related condition.
In medical terms, tirzepatide is a GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist. Both GIP and GLP-1 receptors are found in areas of brain that regulate appetite. Tirzepatide decreases food intake and modulates fat utilisation.
Tirzepatide has successfully completed phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials. Now a team from the University of Naples Federico II led by Dr Giovanna Muscogiuri was responsible for phase 3. During this phase, participants either received the drug or a placebo and were divided into several groups, including patients with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and no diabetes. At the end of the study, the team measured how much weight the participants had lost, as well as changes in waist circumference.
Results showed that participants receiving tirzepatide lost more weight and had a smaller waist circumference compared to the placebo group regardless of how long they had been obese. This was consistent across all groups, irrespective of the condition they were suffering from.
“Tirzepatide consistently reduced body weight and waist circumference in people living with obesity or overweight with weight-related comorbidities regardless of the duration of disease. These results are consistent with the overall findings from each study in the SURMOUNT programme,” concluded the authors.
These results will be presented at the European Congress in Obesity in Venice, Italy which will run from 12-15 May 2024.