‘Astonishing’ weight loss when GLP-1 drug used with second medication — SkimNews
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- Eli Lilly researchers, led by Dan Skovronsky, tested tirzepatide (branded Mounjaro/Zepbound) combined with amylin-targeting eloralintide — dubbed EloraTZP — in 367 overweight or obese people with type 2 diabetes from the US and Argentina, presenting results at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Milan on 30 September.
- Participants receiving the highest EloraTZP dose lost an average of 24.5 kg (23.3% of body weight) over 11 months, compared with 15.6 kg (14.8%) for those on 15 mg of tirzepatide alone and just 3% for the placebo group.
- Blood sugar reductions averaged 2.9% in the high-dose EloraTZP group, 2.4% with tirzepatide alone, and 0.3% on placebo, with University of Oxford's David Preiss calling these 'massive reductions' that could reduce cardiovascular and blood pressure risk.
- Dropout rates reached up to 27% in EloraTZP groups — driven by more frequent mild-to-moderate diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting — versus just 3% for tirzepatide alone and 17% for placebo, raising tolerability concerns.
- Eli Lilly plans to launch a larger trial of EloraTZP delivered as a single weekly injection by the end of 2025, with University of Aberdeen's Lora Heisler suggesting FDA approval could follow within the next few years if results hold.
- University of Aberdeen researcher Lora Heisler noted the combination 'effectively brings a third appetite-regulating pathway into play' by adding amylin signaling to tirzepatide's GLP-1 and GIP mimicry.
- Trial population was limited to people with type 2 diabetes, but Preiss noted weight-loss drugs consistently produce bigger effects in non-diabetic populations, meaning EloraTZP's impact could be even greater in that group once tested.
Why it matters: If the larger single-injection trial confirms these results and FDA approval follows within a few years, the roughly 8.9 percentage-point additional body-weight reduction over tirzepatide alone would meaningfully expand options for the estimated tens of millions of US adults on current GLP-1 therapies — but the 27% dropout rate means the combination will likely remain a second-line choice for patients who don't tolerate or fully respond to tirzepatide alone.
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