FDA Approves Zepbound Diabetes Drug For Weight Loss

(NEWSnet/AP) — A new version of diabetes treatment Mounjaro may be sold as a weight-loss drug, U.S. regulators announced Wednesday.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, or tirzepatide. The drug helped people who were dieting lose about a quarter of their body weight, or 60 pounds on average, in a recent study.

Zepbound is the latest diabetes drug approved for weight loss, joining Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, a high-dose version of its diabetes treatment Ozempic.

FDA approved Eli Lilly’s drug for people who are considered obese, with a body mass index of 30 or higher, or those who are overweight with a related health condition, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. The drug should be paired with a healthy diet and regular exercise, FDA said.

The drug tirzepatide in Zepbound and Mounjaro and semaglutide in Wegovy and Ozempic work by mimicking hormones that activate after people eat to regulate appetite and the feeling of satiety. Both imitate a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, known as GLP-1. Tirzepatide targets a second hormone, called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP.

Zepbound appears to spur greater weight loss than Wegovy. Approved for chronic weight management in 2021, Wegovy helped people lose about 15% of body weight, or 34 pounds, on average, according to study results.

Eli Lilly and Co. said the list price for will be about $1,000 a month, the same as Mounjaro. Medicare is prohibited from covering drugs specifically for weight loss.

Side effects of the new weight-loss drug include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, constipation and other gastrointestinal problems. In the most recent published trial, about 10% of people taking tirzepatide left  the study because of such problems, compared to about 2% of people taking placebo shots.

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