Lilly says experimental drug retatrutide beat Ozempic on blood sugar and weight loss in late-stage diabetes trial

As of 9:40 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026

Eli Lilly said Wednesday that its experimental drug retatrutide lowered blood sugar more and produced more than twice the weight loss of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic in a late-stage, head-to-head trial in adults with type 2 diabetes. Retatrutide is investigational and has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulator.

What Lilly reported

In the Phase 3 trial, called TRANSCEND-T2D-2, both the 9 mg and 12 mg doses of retatrutide lowered A1C, a measure of average blood sugar, by an average of 2.2 percentage points at 80 weeks, compared with 1.8 points for Ozempic 2 mg, Lilly said. Participants started with an average A1C of 8.3%.

People on the 9 mg dose lost an average of 19.5% of their body weight (44.3 pounds), and those on 12 mg lost 20.9% (47.4 pounds), compared with 9.4% (20.9 pounds) on Ozempic, according to the company. Lilly said retatrutide met the trial's primary goal and all key secondary goals, and also improved non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure more than Ozempic did.

Lilly said it used Ozempic 2 mg as the comparator because it is the drug's highest approved dose. "Based on these results and those from across our Phase 3 program, we believe retatrutide, if approved, could shift the treatment paradigm for people living with type 2 diabetes, obesity and related cardiometabolic conditions," said Kenneth Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health.

About the trial

The open-label study enrolled 1,298 adults whose diabetes was not well controlled on metformin, with or without an SGLT2 inhibitor, Lilly said. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two retatrutide doses or to Ozempic 2 mg, each taken once a week. Lilly said the results reflect how participants would have done had all of them stayed on treatment for the full 80 weeks. Detailed results have not yet been published. Lilly said they will be presented at a future medical meeting and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Retatrutide is a once-weekly injection that activates three hormone receptors, GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon, which has earned it the nickname "triple-G," Reuters reported. Lilly said TRANSCEND-T2D-2 is the first Phase 3 trial to compare retatrutide with another drug in its class. The company is also testing it against its own tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, in an obesity trial.

Side effects

The most common side effects were gastrointestinal, according to Lilly. Diarrhea was reported by 28.3% of people on 9 mg and 32.7% on 12 mg, versus 26.4% on Ozempic. Nausea was reported by 21.2% and 23.8%, versus 21.3%. Vomiting was reported by 10.2% and 15.0%, versus 13.2%. Lilly said most side effects were mild to moderate. It said 4.8% of people on 9 mg and 7.9% on 12 mg stopped treatment because of side effects, compared with 2.7% on Ozempic.

What's next

Lilly did not give a timeline for seeking approval. The company stressed that retatrutide is investigational and cannot legally be sold or marketed for human use.