Eli Lilly shares rose in early trading Monday after the company presented Phase 3 trial results showing its experimental obesity drug retatrutide produced substantial weight loss and improvements in obesity‑related health conditions.
Participants taking 12‑milligram doses of retatrutide lost an average of about 70 pounds over 80 weeks, the Indianapolis‑based drugmaker said. One‑third of those on that dose reached a healthy body weight, while two‑thirds no longer met the clinical threshold for obesity, according to data presented Saturday at the American Diabetes Association’s annual conference in New Orleans.
The drug also showed benefits for conditions commonly linked to obesity, including knee osteoarthritis pain, obstructive sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes, the company said.
The results add to a growing body of evidence supporting retatrutide, an injectable drug that targets multiple hormones involved in appetite and metabolism — glucagon, GLP‑1 and GIP. In May, Eli Lilly said retatrutide outperformed its already‑approved weight‑loss drugs Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in a head‑to‑head analysis.
Investors reacted strongly to the latest data. Eli Lilly shares climbed 4.4% in premarket trading to $1,181, building on a record high reached at Friday’s market close. The stock has gained more than 30% since the company reported first‑quarter earnings on April 30.
The broader market also advanced Monday as oil prices eased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,866.78, according to FRED data.
Retatrutide is still experimental and requires regulatory approval. If cleared, it could become a significant competitor in the rapidly expanding weight‑loss drug market, which has been dominated by Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s own Zepbound, both GLP‑1 receptor agonists.