People who use the drug murjaro can maintain weight loss for three years, data from the trial suggests.
Munjaro, known as the weight loss drug “King Kong,” contains tilzepatide and is self-controlled with a weekly injection.
It functions by mimicking two hormones called GLP-1 and GIP, resulting in appetite suppression, increased production of insulin, increased insulin sensitivity, and a decrease in the rate at which food is empty from the stomach. This drug is available to some people in the NHS for weight loss and can also be purchased personally via prescription.
Scientists and academic researchers at Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures Munjaro, have released two analysis of data from a three-year trial known as Surmount-1, casting fresh light on the long-term use of the drug. One analysis examined the trajectory of weight loss, with the second explanation being with rebound after the first weight loss.
The results presented next month at the European Obesity Conference in Malaga and not yet peer-reviewed are based on data from around 700 participants who took tilzepatide in three different dose regimens during the 176-week study. Everything was obese, or overweight and pre-diabetic.
Results revealed that participants’ experiences tended to follow one of three patterns – either stable, moderate, or rapid weight loss, followed by plateau, which occurred later, as the initial drop was faster. The team said the final average weight loss for these groups was 9.2%, 20.2% and 30.8%, respectively. Each group covers one-third of participants.
“[The work] Professor Luca Bouchette of the University of Padova in Italy, one of the scientists behind the initial analysis, said:
The researchers said that most of the participants maintained clinically meaningful weight loss during the course of the study. This was supported in the second analysis. This showed that the average time to the lowest body weight reached was 22 months, at which point participants lost on average 23.1% of their starting weight.
Subsequently, despite continuing medication, the weight was subsequently restored, but participants still lost on average 19.4% of their starting weight by the end of the study.
The team added that 70% of participants recovered less than 5% of their starting weight after reaching the lowest point.
Professor Naveed Sattar of the University of Glasgow, who was not involved in the trial, said the discovery of different weight loss trajectories would help show how much weight an individual is expected to lose in the long term. “That could lead to the need for some individuals to consider new, more powerful treatments in the future,” he said.
Dr. Simon Cork of Anglia Ruskin University said other analyses demonstrated the long-term efficacy of tilzepatide in maintaining weight loss.
Cork also said long-term efficacy and safety studies of such drugs are currently in conflict with guidance.
The findings came when the Advertising Standards Bureau, together with the Drug and Medical Products Regulatory Agency and the General Drug Council, announced that it had warned businesses that it was prohibited to promote prescription-only drugs to the public. This includes weight loss jabs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Saxenda.
Among other examples, the rule covers paid social media ads such as “Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok image ads and video ads,” and sponsors searches and advertising by influencers on Google or other search engines.
A Guardian investigation previously revealed that weight loss injections were often actively sold to UK consumers through illegal promotions.
