Retatrutide — an experimental drug nicknamed “triple G” — could be your best shot at a slimmer waistline when it becomes available to the public, a Monday study found.
Obese adults who took the weekly injection lost up to 22% of their starting weight after 11 months — compared to just 14% over 15 months for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Researchers from McGill University in Canada reviewed the results of 26 trials, comprising nearly 15,500 participants, to determine which of the weight loss jabs are the most effective for obese adults who do not have diabetes.
They investigated 12 medications — three that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for weight loss and nine it hasn’t.
The drugs mimic GLP-1, a hormone the body naturally produces after eating, so users feel fuller for longer.
The analysis found that retatrutide caused the greatest weight loss — participants lost up to 22.1% of their weight after 48 weeks versus people who took a placebo.
Eli Lilly’s drug is called “triple G” because it mimics GLP-1, the appetite-suppressing hormone GIP and glucagon, a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels.
Phase 3 trials are expected to last until January 2026, so the injection won’t be up for FDA approval for a few years. A Lilly rep declined to comment to The Post.
The three FDA-approved drugs in the McGill analysis were liraglutide (sold under the brand name Saxenda), semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound).
The review found:
- Tirzepatide, a weekly GLP-1 and GIP drug, produced weight loss of up to 17.8% after 72 weeks.
- Semaglutide, a weekly GLP-1 drug, caused weight loss of up to 13.9% after 68 weeks.
- Liraglutide, a daily GLP-1 drug, brought weight loss of up to 5.8% after 26 weeks.
A pill form of semaglutide brought similar weight loss as injections, according to the analysis.
The FDA approved Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide tablet Rybelsus for adults with diabetes but not for weight management.
Among the drugs the FDA hasn’t approved, Lilly’s daily pill orforglipron, Lilly and Innovent’s weekly injection mazdutide and Boehringer Ingelheim’s weekly jab survodutide showed promise.
The trials revealed that most pounds are shed early in the treatments, with significant weight loss plateauing afterward.
Weight loss wasn’t the only benefit — participants’ blood pressure also improved.
Mild gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea and diarrhea, were the most commonly reported side effects.
Notably, eight of the 26 trials reported at least one death for a total of 22 deaths. Seven of them were attributed to the placebo.
“The deaths in the participants assigned to semaglutide and retatrutide were not deemed by investigators to be related to the trial product,” the researchers wrote in their analysis, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“The investigators in the trials of the participants assigned to liraglutide and tirzepatide did not provide additional information about the causes of deaths and their relation to the trial products,” they added.
McGill researchers are calling for more studies on the growing GLP-1 offerings, including if combining therapies could bring even more benefits.
They noted a lack of head-to-head trials that pitted GLP-1 drugs against each other. Another limitation of their review is that the treatment periods varied between trials.
https://nypost.com/2025/01/06/health/ozempic-3-0-this-drug-causes-greatest-weight-loss-by-far/
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