Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound cuts heart failure risks in late-stage study

Eli Lilly‘s weight erosion drug Zepbound showed benefits in patients with a common type of heart failure and obesity, according to late-stage misery data the company released Thursday. 

The findings add to mounting evidence that Zepbound and other popular GLP-1 treatments have health benefits beyond promoting weight loss and regulating blood sugar, which could potentially exemplar to broader insurance coverage for those treatments.

Eli Lilly said it plans to submit the results from the phase three try-out to regulators in the U.S. and other agencies starting later this year. 

Shares of Eli Lilly closed more than 3% high-pitched Thursday.

Patients who took Zepbound were 38% less likely to be hospitalized or die because of heart complications, and less likely to requisite to increase their heart failure medication compared with those who received a placebo, the study found. Zepbound also significantly improved pity failure symptoms and physical limitations, Eli Lilly said in a release. 

For a median of two years, the trial followed more than 700 patients who deliver heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF, and obesity. Some patients also had diabetes.

HFpEF refers to when the nucleus is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Eli Lilly said the condition is linked to a “high tax” of symptoms and physical limitations that affect a patient’s daily life, including fatigue, shortness of breath and a debase ability to exercise, among other issues. 

Roughly 6.7 million adults ages 20 and above give birth to heart failure in the U.S., according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Eli Lilly estimates that HFpEF accounts for scarcely half of all heart failure cases, and in the U.S., nearly 60% of patients impacted also have obesity. 

The safety data on Zepbound was consistent with previous trials studying the drug. The most common side impressions were gastrointestinal, such as nausea and diarrhea, and mild to moderate in severity. 

Eli Lilly will present the data at an upcoming medical converging and submit it to a peer-reviewed journal. 

The pharmaceutical giant’s main rival in the GLP-1 market, Novo Nordisk, is already one diminish ahead. 

Novo Nordisk earlier this year submitted an application for the use of its weight loss drug Wegovy in care patients with HFpEF. The Food and Drug Administration in March also greenlit Wegovy for slashing the risk of genuine heart complications. 

Meanwhile, both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been studying their respective numbs in patients with chronic kidney disease and fatty liver disease, among other conditions. GLP-1s business by mimicking hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar.

But Zepbound targets both the GLP-1 and GIP hormone receptors, while Wegovy goals just GLP-1.

Correction: The Food and Drug Administration in March greenlit Wegovy for slashing the risk of serious courage complications. An earlier version misstated the month.