{"id":91340,"date":"2026-06-16T13:23:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=91340"},"modified":"2026-06-16T13:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T19:23:49","slug":"retatrutide-for-weight-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/retatrutide-for-weight-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Retatrutide, the newest weight-loss drug, helped people lose 30% of body weight, on par with weight-loss surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Retatrutide
Retatrutide helped participants lose about 30% of their body weight \u2014 roughly 70 pounds \u2014 in clinical trials. The new drug is a \u201ctriple-agonist,\u201d designed to target three hormone pathways (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon) to reduce hunger and regulate blood sugar. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Retatrutide, the newest type of weight-loss drug, helped people lose an average of 70 pounds or about 30% of their body weight over 80 weeks, according to study data from the drug\u2019s manufacturer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The drug is known as a \u201ctriple-agonist,\u201d meaning it targets three different receptors in the brain and throughout the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never had a triple-agonist medication. So, this is completely new, and retatrutide seems to be more potent,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Cecilia Low Wang<\/a>, a UCHealth expert on endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.<\/p>\n

The dramatic amount of weight that study volunteers lost on the new drug exceeds the percentage of weight most people lose when they use the popular weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Zepbound. (These drugs are also known as Ozempic and Mounjaro when people take the same medications for diabetes.)<\/p>\n

And the amount of weight people lost with retatrutide matches or exceeds the amount of weight people lose when they have bariatric weight-loss surgery.<\/p>\n

In addition to helping people lose weight, researchers also found that retatrutide reduced pain for people with knee arthritis by up to 73%. And people who had moderate to severe sleep apnea \u2014 meaning they stopped breathing multiple times as they slept \u2014 experienced about 60% fewer events.<\/p>\n

The news about how well retatrutide works came this month from Eli Lilly, the drug\u2019s manufacturer. Researchers unveiled details from clinical trials at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

The study findings have not gone through peer reviews yet, and federal regulators with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not approved retatrutide yet. It\u2019s unlikely to become available to patients until 2027 at the soonest.<\/p>\n

U.S.-based Eli Lilly also makes the current bestselling weight-loss drug, Zepbound, which is called Mounjaro when patients take it to fight diabetes.<\/p>\n

To learn more about retatrutide, how it works, how the drug compares with other popular weight-loss drugs and whether retatrutide causes negative side effects, we consulted with Low Wang.<\/p>\n

She cares for patients at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> and also is a professor<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/a>. She is the former chair of a committee of experts that advises FDA leaders about drugs related to endocrinology and metabolism. (Low Wang\u2019s views do not represent those of the FDA or\u00a0the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

How much weight can people lose with retatrutide?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On average, volunteers in the retatrutide clinical trial who received the study drug rather than a placebo lost an average of 70.3 pounds over about a year-and-a-half, with more than 45% of participants losing more than 30% of their body weight.<\/p>\n

Patients who had larger body mass indexes \u2014 BMIs greater than 35 \u2014 lost even more weight, successfully shedding 85 pounds or 30.3% of their body weight after about two years.<\/p>\n

What is retatrutide and how is it different from other weight-loss drugs? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Retatrutide is more powerful than earlier weight-loss drugs because it\u2019s a triple-agonist drug. Previous drugs have been single- or dual-agonist drugs.<\/p>\n

This class of drugs is known as GLP-1s. That stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, which is a hormone that we produce in our guts. It slows digestion and reduces hunger.<\/p>\n

The older GLP-1 medications activate one or two receptors in the brain and throughout the body, whereas retatrutide works by activating three receptors.<\/p>\n

These receptors stimulate hormones that control blood sugar levels and reduce appetite, triggering weight loss. Low Wang said doctors and researchers still do not fully understand why activating these receptors is so effective in causing weight loss.<\/p>\n

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Learn more:<\/strong><\/h4>\n