Head-to-Head Trial | Zepbound Edges Out Wegovy in Weight Loss Results

livewell
December 10, 2024
Noah Bennett

Introduction

Eli Lilly and Nova Nordisk are the two main rival pharmaceutical companies known for their famous weight-losing medications. The company has recently tried to prove the effectiveness of its drug against its rival through a head-to-head trial. Eli Lilly claims that these weight loss results have demonstrated that its medicine has outperformed Wegovy by a vast margin.

Details

The trial, sponsored by Eli Lilly, consisted of 751 overweight or obese participants divided into two groups. All of them were suffering from one of the obesity-related diseases, excluding diabetes. Both received their respective medicine, Zepbound or Wegovy, every week for 72 weeks. After the culmination of the trial, the group with Zepbound medication reduced its weight by 20.2% compared to the 13.7% weight reduction of the other group during the same period. It signifies a visible 47% difference between the effectiveness of both medications. Soon after the announcement of these weight loss results, the shares of Eli Lily rose by 2.5%, while those of its rival fell by 1.8%.

Important to note, this is not the first study demonstrating Zepbound’s better performance against its rival, Wegovy. A separate study on both drugs demonstrated that Wegovy led to 15% weight loss after 68 weeks, compared to 22% weight loss in participants of a 72-week-long study related to Zepbound. As a result, both medicines received FDA approval for weight loss treatments after the outcomes.

Following the weight loss results, U.S. health authorities have also approved Wegovy for the treatment of heart disease. Zepbound, on the other hand, expects to soon get approval to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

Wegovy vs Zepbound

The difference between these trials further elaborates on the effect of a specific hormone on reducing weight. Wegovy activates GLP-1 to control weight, while Zepbound impacts an additional hormonal, GIP, alongside GLP-1 to regulate blood sugar and reduce weight. Additionally, JAMA International Medicine (a medical journal) recently published an analysis of health records following the weight loss results, which shows that Zepbound induces faster and higher levels of weight loss than Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk’s Opinion

The recent weight loss trial is a setback for Novo Nordisk, the older of the two companies. However, the Copenhagen-based company is still confident about its famous drug, Wegovy. Furthermore, it said its drug is the only proven weight loss drug to reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack. The pharmaceutical company further stated they would give a detailed opinion after reviewing the complete data from peer review and publication. Afterward, it will be available to the general public.

Eli Lilly, on the other hand, is quite confident about the result of these trials. Furthermore, they want to publish full weight loss results in a peer-reviewed journal soon. In like manner, they will present them at a medical meeting the next year.

Both companies are trying their best to get acceptance from the government. In addition, they are trying to get insurance because the monthly cost is around $1000. This subsequently will take most of their resources. Therefore, getting insurance will make the process as well as medicine affordable for most people who want to lose weight. Some analysts expect the share of the weight loss drug market can reach $150 billion per year by the 2030s.