Lilly’s investigational GLP-1 reduces AHI by up to 36 events per hour in OSA patients

INDIANAPOLIS – Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound and Foundayo, has announced positive results from Phase 3 trials of retatrutide, an investigational GLP-1, showing substantial weight loss along with meaningful improvements across knee osteoarthritis pain, moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, and Type 2 diabetes – common obesity-related conditions.

"Obesity drives more than 200 downstream diseases, yet we have historically treated those conditions one at a time and in silos," said Ania Jastreboff, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Medicine & Pediatrics (Endocrinology) at the Yale School of Medicine, director of the Yale Obesity Research Center (Y-Weight), and lead investigator. "In TRIUMPH-1 and TRANSCEND-T2D-1, treatment with retatrutide resulted in substantial weight reduction together with clinically meaningful improvements in glycemia, knee osteoarthritis pain, and obstructive sleep apnea, with many individuals reaching what are classified as healthy-range weight and normal blood sugar levels. These findings demonstrate what may be possible when we treat obesity and impact overall health, and what this could mean for people living with obesity and its related complications."

The findings from TRIUMPH-1 and TRANSCEND-T2D-1 were presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 86th Scientific Sessions, with TRANSCEND-T2D-1 results simultaneously published in The Lancet.

TRIUMPH-1 included an overarching trial for adults with obesity and two nested basket trials: one for knee osteoarthritis pain and one for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. In addition to improving weight measures, retatrutide reduced apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) by up to 36.1 events per hour (60.6%) from a baseline of 58.6 events per hour in participants with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Lilly is studying retatrutide in several Phase 3 clinical trials to evaluate its potential efficacy and safety in obesity and overweight with at least one weight-related medical problem:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Knee osteoarthritis pain
• Moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea
• Chronic low back pain
• Cardiovascular and renal outcomes
• Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Lilly says the initial TRIUMPH Phase 3 clinical development program is evaluating the safety and efficacy of retatrutide for the treatment of patients with obesity or overweight, moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity, and knee osteoarthritis pain across four global registrational trials. The program, which began in 2023, has enrolled more than 5,800 participants with additional results anticipated over the next year.