Over two years of treatment, Eli Lilly’s triple-G drug cut body weight by more than 30% in certain patients with obesity, cementing the pharma’s position as the frontrunner in the metabolic space.
Eli Lilly’s triple-G therapy retatrutide elicited what BMO Capital Markets called “impressive” weight reduction in patients with obesity, cementing the pharma’s lead in the space as the industry scrambles to develop next-generation metabolic therapies.
The pharma is testing three doses of the triple-G drug retatrutide in the Phase 3 TRIUMPH-1 study: 4 mg, 9 mg and 12 mg. Last month, 80-week data showed a 28.3% reduction in weight for the drug’s top dose without adjusting for placebo.
At the 2026 annual congress of the American Diabetes Association on Saturday, Lilly presented weight loss data out to 104 weeks, touting a 30.3% drop in body weight for those with body mass index (BMI) of at least 35 kg/m2—indicative of class 2 obesity, which is associated with even greater risks of hypertension, heart failure and other cardiometabolic complications.
For BMO Capital Markets, these new data suggest that retatrutide “sets [a] new standard in weight loss,” analysts wrote in a June 7 note to investors. “Extension data from TRIUMPH-1 shows further weight loss in overweight/obese patients, strengthening retatrutide’s profile in the indication.”
William Blair was similarly bullish about the retatrutide data, writing on Sunday that the drug “breaks [a] new record in ‘Weight Loss Olympics.’” Lilly, the analysts added, “successfully positioned retatrutide within the ultra-high potency category within its broad product portfolio.”
Aside from greater weight loss, Lilly on Saturday also showed that patients on retatrutide saw a 73.1% improvement in knee osteoarthritis pain scores and a 60.6% decrease in apnea or hypopnea episodes per hour, as compared with baseline. These adjacent benefits, according to BMO, “likely exceed investor expectations.”
Reductions in knee pain and sleep problems provide “further support for broader benefits of retatrutide’s robust weight loss in secondary conditions,” the analysts added.
Lilly in 2023 launched the registrational Phase 3 TRIUMPH program to study retatrutide not just for patients with obesity or who are overweight, but also for those with obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis. Thus far, more than 5,800 patients have been enrolled across four TRIUMPH studies, with more data set to come out over the next year, according to the pharma’s Saturday release.
Also at ADA, Lilly presented data for its weight-loss pill Foundayo, positioning the drug as the only GLP-1 therapy that can be taken without food or water restrictions for menopausal women. In a posthoc analysis of ATTAIN-1, Foundayo slashed more than 14% body weight in both peri- and post-menopausal women, according to a Saturday news release.
ATTAIN-2, which also included women with type 2 diabetes (T2D), similarly showed weight reductions across all stages of menopause.
“We see Lilly building out a comprehensive portfolio that could sustain its position as market leader in obesity/T2D,” analysts at Truist Securities wrote in a Sunday evening note to investors, referring to the pharma’s overall weight-loss strategy.
Retatrutide, the firm noted, provides “best-in-class weight loss with substantial efficacy at the low 4-mg dose that could lead to widespread adoption.” Meanwhile, Foundayo—alongside an investigational weekly injection called eloralintide—"could fill gaps in current obesity/T2D needs for patients looking to avoid injections and those more sensitive to GI-related tolerability issues.”
