Eli Lilly $LLY stock rose 4.4% in premarket trading on Monday after full Phase 3 trial results for its experimental weight loss drug retatrutide showed participants on the highest dose losing an average of 28.3% of their body weight over 80 weeks.
Participants on the highest dose of retatrutide lost an average of 28.3% of their body weight over 80 weeks, Lilly said
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Eli Lilly $LLY stock rose 4.4% in premarket trading on Monday after full Phase 3 trial results for its experimental weight loss drug retatrutide showed participants on the highest dose losing an average of 28.3% of their body weight over 80 weeks.
The company presented the data at the American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans. At the 12 mg dose, participants lost an average of roughly 70 pounds, Lilly said. One-third of those patients saw their weight fall into a healthy range, while two-thirds dropped below the threshold for obesity, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The drug also showed benefits beyond weight reduction. Lilly said retatrutide helped relieve obesity-linked conditions including knee pain, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes.
Among the data points drawing the most attention was a lower 4 mg dose that had not previously been evaluated in Phase 3 testing. Weight reduction at that dose averaged 19%, putting it on par with Zepbound's maximum dose, and discontinuations tied to adverse events came in at around 4% — below the rate seen in the placebo group, according to Reuters. Tolerability worsened as doses climbed higher.
Unlike Zepbound, which targets two hormonal pathways, retatrutide engages three simultaneously — GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy targets only GLP-1. In a study extension running to 104 weeks, a subset of higher-risk patients on the 12 mg dose dropped an average of 85 pounds, equal to 30.3% of their starting weight. Lilly chief scientific and product officer Dan Skovronsky described that level of weight loss as previously the exclusive territory of bariatric surgery.
Lilly has indicated a regulatory submission to the FDA could come before the end of the year, though no application has yet been filed.
Year to date, Lilly's shares are up more than 5% and the stock has climbed over 30% since first-quarter earnings landed on April 30. The Indiana-based drugmaker raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between $82 billion and $85 billion after first-quarter worldwide revenue rose 56% to $19.8 billion, driven by demand for Zepbound and its diabetes drug Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk, Lilly's closest competitor, has shed about 15% of its share value since the start of the year.
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