Lilly shares safety, tolerability data on its next-gen obesity drug

Elaine’s stories explore the boom in new obesity treatments, new drug payment models, the ways companies are affected by FDA changes, and the emerging psychedelics drug sector. She co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

Eli Lilly has already established that its next-generation obesity drug can lead to highly rapid weight loss. Researchers disclosed new data Saturday that provide more details on the safety and tolerability of the closely-watched therapy.

Lilly previously said that in one late-stage study, called TRANSCEND-T2D-1, retatrutide helped people with diabetes lower blood sugar and lose a significant amount of weight, which is notable since those who have diabetes tend to lose less weight on treatment than those who don’t.

New data showed that seven out of the 403 participants who received retatrutide experienced arrhythmias (irregular heart beats), and three treated participants experienced major cardiovascular complications, compared with none in the placebo group. The data were presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association and published in the Lancet.

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