Drug Discovery and Development

3-year study: Tirzepatide prevents diabetes in almost 99% of prediabetic adults

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Although Lilly has shared the topline results of the SURMOUNT-1 trial, now, the full data from the three-year study have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The company also recently presented the data at ObesityWeek in San Antonio.  The biggest conclusion was that 98.7% (752 of 762) of participants who received tirzepatide remained diabetes-free over the three years, translating to a 94% reduction in risk of progression to type 2 diabetes compared to placebo. By comparison, 86.7% of those in the placebo group remained diabetes-free over the 176-week study. The therapy also supported sustained weight loss of up to 22.9% over the study period.

A post hoc mediation analysis in the NEJM paper revealed that roughly half of tirzepatide’s effect in preventing diabetes was associated with weight loss, suggesting the drug has additional beneficial effects on metabolism. The study also indicated that after stopping treatment during a 17-week follow-up period, some benefits began to diminish — participants regained about 7% of their weight and 15.5% reverted from normal blood sugar back to prediabetes. The safety profile remained consistent with previous studies, with gastrointestinal effects being the most common adverse events, typically occurring during the dose-escalation period in the first 20 weeks.The SURMOUNT-1 trial demonstrated that tirzepatide significantly improved various cardiometabolic risk factors beyond weight reduction and diabetes prevention. Participants experienced significant decreases in blood pressure and improvements in lipid profiles, including reductions in LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Additionally, measures of insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function were improved.

FDA approved tirzepatide (Zepbound) for chronic weight management in November 2023. The therapy has also won approval for weight management and loss from the UK’s MHRA. Additionally, Eli Lilly anticipates receiving approval in Hong Kong by the end of 2024.

Strong sales of tirzepartide have helped catapult Lilly to a market cap of $842 billion as of October 2024, making it the most valuable drug company globally. 

Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Metabolic disease/endicrinology
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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