In ongoing trials of Eli Lilly's next-generation obesity drug, several trial participants are running into an issue they never expected: They are losing too much weight.
One participant lost 22% of her weight in nine months -- substantially faster than the rate seen with approved GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound. Her weight dropped so much that researchers reduced her dose of the treatment, called retatrutide. Still, she continued to feel too nauseous, so she decided by herself to start skipping every other dose.
Another participant, who lost 30% of his weight in eight months, developed a kidney stone. It's not certain if that was due to the weight loss, but a recent observational study linked GLP-1 drugs to an increased rate of kidney stones.
A third patient, whose weight plunged 31% over a similar span, has been constantly making himself eat calorie-dense foods like peanut butter to avoid losing more. "I go to my visits and they're like, 'make sure you eat as much as you can,'" he said. It's odd "to be in an obesity trial and try not to lose any more weight."
These trial participants, who asked not to be named because they signed a confidentiality agreement when enrolling in the studies, all said the drug has been life-changing. (They have not been told whether they are in the treatment group or a placebo group but, given their dramatic weight loss, they believe they're in the former.)
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