Eli Lilly says next-gen obesity drug curbs sleep apnea, among other benefits

Eli Lilly and Co

06/06/2026 19:30

    NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly LLY.N presented trial results to medical professionals on Saturday showing its next-generation obesity drug retatrutide curbed sleep apnea severity in addition to boosting weight loss and helping knee pain.
In a Phase 3 trial, Lilly found a weekly injection of retatrutide reduced moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea severity by 60.6% in adults with obesity. Lilly's older drug Zepbound is approved for the condition.
In the same trial, the drug reduced knee osteoarthritis pain by up to 73.1%, Lilly found. The results were presented at an American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans.
Lilly previously disclosed results of the two studies presented on Saturday showing patients with obesity lost 28% of body weight and adults with type 2 diabetes experienced significant drops in blood sugar levels.
In one of the studies, 2% of patients with diabetes who took the lowest dose of the drug experienced major adverse cardiovascular events. Such events were not necessarily caused by the drug, according to detailed results published in the Lancet on Saturday.
Retatrutide is Lilly's experimental "triple G" drug, which targets GLP-1, a second obesity-related hormone called GIP and the body's receptors for a third hormone called glucagon.
The Indiana-based company and rivals including Denmark's Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO are in a race to dominate the booming market for obesity and diabetes drugs.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Caroline Humer and Will Dunham)
((christine.prentice@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (202) 843-6464;))