An updated version of a popular diabetes drug has joined the ranks of other drugs currently being touted across the country as the next weight loss miracle.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 8 that Monzaro, a diabetes drug made by pharma giant Eli Lilly, will now be available in higher doses for weight loss. zepbound, Studies suggest that tirazepate, the main ingredient in Monjaro and Zepbound, may be more effective than semaglutide in Vegovy. Both are administered through weekly Injection.
Vegovy is a higher-dose version of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic diabetes drug.
Monjaro and Wegovi have gone viral on social media, with celebrities showing off their weight loss results on TikTok.
Like Wegovi, the FDA-approved Zepbound is for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, as well as those who are overweight with an associated health problem such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
Tirazeptide and semaglutide mimic hormones that are active after people eat, slowing the emptying of their stomach and making them feel full longer. While both drugs mimic the key hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), tirazepate mimics a second hormone, GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide). Experts believe that these two mimics work together, making tirazepide significantly more effective than semaglutide.
The FDA issued its approval for Zepbound based on two major studies.
In the first — which was sponsored by Lilly — more than 2,500 participants, some with diabetes and some not, were given different strengths of Zepbound (about 1,000 received placebo shots). Participants who did not have diabetes who received the highest potency lost about 41 pounds compared with placebo; The average weight of people with diabetes was about 27 pounds.
Overall, Wegovi helped people lose about 34 pounds.
In a second study, participants who combined Zepbound with diet and exercise lost up to 60 pounds, or 25 percent, of their weight, making it the most effective weight loss drug in history — comparable, even to surgery. Equal to.
both active ingredients, experts sayInduces more than enough weight loss to significantly reduce cardiovascular health risks.
However, patients must take these indefinitely; Otherwise, up to two-thirds of the weight will come back.
For people with type 2 diabetes, tirazeptide also reduces average amount of sugar In their blood. Diabetics and others who need medication to stay healthy are at risk from continued shortages of tirazepide, semaglutide and a third drug, dulaglutide.
Letting your blood sugar levels get too high is dangerous and sometimes fatal for diabetics, but pharmacy shelves across the country have been empty for months as more people turn to the drug for weight loss.
Eli Lilly said in a statement that it plans to double the manufacturer’s LPG-1 capacity by the end of the year to deal with the shortage.
Since most insurance companies don’t cover weight management programs unless there is a health problem, Zepbound will cost patients about $1,100 monthly.
To 2021 study A comparison of semaglutide with tirazepate found that tirazepate resulted in greater weight loss and blood sugar reduction than its competitor.
However, with greater efficacy comes a greater risk of dangerous side effects.
Users often experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain; More serious cases may include pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypoglycemia, kidney failure, gallbladder disease, and thyroid tumors. abdominal paralysis, Unlike mild common side effects, these more serious risks are not listed on the medication’s packaging.
Stomach paralysis, or gastroparesis, occurs when the stomach muscles do not contract as they should, causing food to become stuck in the stomach and unable to pass through the digestive tract. Complications include malnutrition, dehydration, unstable blood sugar changes, and life-threatening intestinal blockage.
In August 2023, a Louisiana woman with type 2 diabetes filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk for failure to warn consumers about the risk of gastroparesis. After using Ozempic and Monzaro, she suffered severe stomach pain, gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting so severe that she lost her teeth.
The following month, the FDA ordered Novo Nordisk to add danger of ileus, The medical term for obstruction caused by decreased intestinal motility, on its warning label.
Increasing reports of diabetes drugs causing gastroparesis worldwide are expected to lead to production of more diabetes weight loss drug lawsuit in the coming months.