New results from a clinical trial evaluating the drug showed positive results for reducing heart failure risk.
ADVERTISEMENTThe weight-loss drug tirzepatide reduced the risk of outcomes such as hospitalisation or death by 38 per cent for obese adults with heart failure compared to a placebo, according to Eli Lilly.
The US pharmaceutical company unveiled results from a phase 3 clinical trial of the drug in obese adults with a common type of heart failure.
The drug is marketed under the name Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes. Mounjaro was authorised for use in the European Union in 2022.
Tirzepatide also improved heart failure symptoms and physical limitations, the company said, and helped adults lose 15.7 per cent of their body weight compared to just 2.2 per cent for those taking a placebo.
The company said it would continue to evaluate the trial results and submit them to regulatory agencies later this year.
The randomised trial included 731 participants across nine countries who received 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg tirzepatide, based on what they could tolerate, or a placebo. The drug was given once weekly.
Tirzepatide is one of the popular obesity and type 2 diabetes drugs in the same class as semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Like those drugs, tirzepatide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist which mimics a hormone produced in the gut that can signal when your body is full.
Tirzepatide also mimics the GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) hormone which regulates blood glucose levels.
Semaglutide has been shown to reduce cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack and death in adults with preexisting disease.
The European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion last week on extending Wegovy's use to include the prevention of major cardiovascular problems in overweight adults with cardiovascular disease.
The most common adverse side effects of tirzepatide were diarrhoea, nausea, constipation and vomiting, Eli Lilly said, though the drug can also cause more serious side effects.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that tirzepatide may also help people who struggle with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a serious sleep disorder where people stop breathing while they are asleep.
The company said, however, that there are risks and uncertainties in drug production and no guarantee that the drug would be approved for patients with heart failure.
Experts have also warned that cost and access continue to be obstacles to using these blockbuster weight-loss drugs which are subject to shortages due to their popularity.
ADVERTISEMENTWeight problems and obesity are increasing in EU states, with an estimated 52.7 per cent of the adult EU population being overweight in 2019, according to the bloc’s statistical office, Eurostat.
