According to a thorough analysis of real-world data, adults who are overweight or obese can lose weight more effectively with the diabetes medication Mounjaro than with Ozempic.
Compared to patients on Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, patients taking Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro had a significantly higher chance of losing weight and experienced larger drops in body weight.
The findings coincide with a surge in demand for weight-loss medications and related therapies in the United States due to their proven track record of assisting patients in gradually losing excess weight.
A comprehensive analysis of real-world data released on Monday indicates that the popular diabetes medication Mounjaro is more effective than Ozempic at helping overweight or obese adults lose weight.
In the Truveta Research study, patients on Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro had a significantly higher chance of losing weight and experienced greater reductions in body weight at particular time points than those on Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic. The company gathers and examines patient information from multiple healthcare systems.
The findings coincide with a surge in demand for weight-loss medications and related therapies in the United States due to their proven track record of assisting patients in gradually losing excess weight. This year, the shares of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have increased due to the wider adoption.
Although weekly injections of Ozempic and Mounjaro are only authorized for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, many individuals use them off-label to reduce weight.
Similar results from earlier head-to-head studies indicate that Mounjaro is superior to Ozempic for helping adults with Type 2 diabetes lose weight and control their blood sugar.
However, Mounjaro’s advantage over Ozempic in a practical context is confirmed by Monday’s study, particularly among adults who are overweight or obese. Notably, Truveta Research reports that there are currently no head-to-head clinical trials available in that population.
In an ongoing clinical trial for patients who are obese or overweight, Eli Lilly is comparing Mounjaro against Wegovy, a higher dose version of Ozempic that is approved for weight loss. However, the outcomes won’t be made public until the following year.
In preparation for randomized clinical trials, we were able to compare the head-to-head efficacy of these two significant weight-loss drugs, according to a statement from study author and vice president of Truveta Research, Dr. Nick Stucky. “Today, not in months, this study can help to inform patient care and outcomes.”
Particularly, Truveta Research looked at medical records for about 18,000 obese or overweight adults who began taking Ozempic or Mounjaro for the first time between May 2022 and September 2023. Among those patients, Type 2 diabetes affected nearly 52%.
Researchers discovered that compared to Ozempic patients, Mounjaro patients had a three times higher chance of losing 15% of their body weight. Additionally, patients on Mounjaro had a 2.6-fold higher chance of losing 10% of their body weight and a 1.8-fold higher chance of losing 5% of it.
Patients on Mounjaro lost 5.9% of their body weight at three months, compared to 3.6% for those on Ozempic. Patients using Ozempic lost 5.9% of their body weight at six months, compared to 10.1% for those taking Mounjaro. After a year, Mounjaro participants lost 15.2% of their body weight, whereas Ozempic participants lost 7.9%.
Additionally, patients without Type 2 diabetes lost more weight than those who had the illness, according to Truveta Research. However, in both populations, the disparities in efficacy between Ozempic and Mounjaro were comparable.
Patients taking Ozempic and Mounjaro experienced similar rates of adverse gastrointestinal events.
Because of their combined strategy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have a greater impact on blood sugar regulation and appetite regulation than drugs that solely target GLP-1, according to some experts. This could result in a greater degree of weight loss.
In a late-stage research involving over 2,500 adults without diabetes who were obese, those taking 5 milligrams of Zepbound for 72 weeks experienced an average weight loss of roughly 16%. Even greater weight loss was linked to higher dosages of the medication; an average of 22.5% weight loss was achieved with a 15-milligram dose.
The National Institutes of Health reports that obesity affects more than two out of every five adults.
