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Late-stage trials show retatrutide cut body weight by up to about a quarter

Eli Lilly's retatrutide produced the largest weight losses yet recorded in drug trials published on 29 September, in the Lancet (type 2 diabetes) and the New England Journal of Medicine (obesity). It is not yet approved anywhere.

5 outlets · 5L · 0C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Guardian
Image: Scientific American
Image: NBC News
Image: Ars Technica
Image: CBS News

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The story, neutrally told

Results from late-stage trials of Eli Lilly's retatrutide were published on 29 September, showing large weight loss in people with obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes. In the obesity trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, people on the highest dose lost an average of 25% of body weight after 80 weeks and 30% after an extension to 104 weeks. In the Lancet trial of adults with type 2 diabetes, participants lost up to about 23% of body weight; the Guardian reports averages of 11.9%, 16.8% and 18.8% at the 4 mg, 9 mg and 12 mg doses versus 5.1% on placebo.

Retatrutide mimics three hormones (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon), whereas tirzepatide mimics two and semaglutide one. Other reported benefits include better blood sugar control, lower blood pressure and inflammation markers, less knee pain and fewer sleep apnoea events. Side effects were mainly gastrointestinal and similar to other GLP-1 drugs, though Ars Technica notes there were reports of pancreatitis and cardiovascular events that the trial was too small to assess.

The Guardian reports seven deaths in the diabetes trial, judged by the investigator to be unrelated to the drug. The drug is not approved by any regulator; Lilly says it plans to file early next year, and the diabetes trial was funded by Lilly. The trials did not compare retatrutide with existing drugs, so claims of superiority rest on cross-trial comparisons.

NBC reports unapproved copycat versions are being sold and that Lilly has sued sellers.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left5 outlets

Framing
All three outlets lead with the scale of weight loss and wider health benefits, with caveats about approval status, funding and lack of head-to-head trials. Only left-leaning outlets covered the story.
Emphasis
Record weight loss, benefits for diabetes, sleep apnoea, knee pain and inflammation; expert praise (NBC); mechanism explainer (Ars Technica).
Leaves out or plays down
The Guardian omits the lack of comparison with existing drugs; NBC and the Guardian give little on rarer safety signals such as pancreatitis, which Ars Technica reports.
Charged language
“Godzilla”“Most powerful obesity drug yet”“It rivals gastric bypass surgery without the surgery”
For example
“The ‘Godzilla’ of weight-loss drugs could help improve blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation and cut a person’s body weight by a quarter” — The Guardian
“It’s the most weight loss ever recorded in a drug trial for diabetes patients” — NBC News
“the results appear in line with high expectations” — Ars Technica

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