LOS ANGELES — In the primary direct comparison of two blockbuster drugs under real-world conditions, individuals who Mounjaro lost significantly more weight than their colleagues who Ozempic – and the longer patients took the medication, the larger this gap became.
After three months of weekly injections, patients taking Ozempic lost a mean of three.6 percent of their body weight, while the typical weight reduction for patients taking Mounjaro was 5.9 percent.
After six months, Ozempic patients had lost a mean of 5.8% of their weight, while the typical weight reduction for Mounjaro patients was 10.1%.
And after a full yr, those taking Ozempic had lost a mean of 8.3% of their weight, while those taking Mounjaro had lost a mean of 15.3%.
The researchers who conducted the evaluation also found that in comparison with people taking Ozempic, people taking Mounjaro were 2.5 times more more likely to lose a minimum of 10% of their baseline weight through the first yr of taking the medication, and people taking Mounjaro were greater than 3 times more more likely to lose a minimum of 15% of their weight.
The results were published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Dr Matthew FreebyEndocrinologist and director of the Gonda Diabetes Center of UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine, said the study results were consistent with observations he had made in his own patients.
“From the perspective of weight loss and lowering blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics, we see stronger effects with Mounjaro than with Ozempic,” said Freeby, who was not involved within the research.
Both drugs were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to assist individuals with diabetes to maintain their blood sugar under control. By mimicking a hormone called Glucagon-like peptide 1or GLP-1, they increase the body’s own production of insulindecelerate digestion, increase the sensation of satiety and reduce appetite.
Mounjaro also mimics a related hormone called glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptideor GIP.
When the drugs were tested against placebos in clinical trials, each helped patients lose significant weight. Tirzepatidethe lively ingredient in Mounjaro, seemed simpler than Semaglutidethe lively ingredient in Ozempic. However, the studies weren’t conducted under the identical conditions, so the outcomes are usually not directly comparable.
Researchers from Truvetaa healthcare data and analytics company owned by 30 health systemstried to vary this by examining their electronic health records. The work also gave them the chance to see how the patients fared outside the idealized context of a clinical trial, which usually provides free medication, regular check-ups, and other kinds of support.
Using their database, the researchers were in a position to discover individuals who filled their first prescription for either drug between May 2022, the month Mounjaro joined Ozempic. Obtaining FDA approval — and September 2023. Patients didn’t need to have type 2 diabetes to take part in the study, but that they had to be chubby (with a Body mass index of a minimum of 27) or obese (with a BMI of a minimum of 30).
The Truveta team found about 41,000 people in over 30 states who met all the factors for inclusion within the study. Because Ozempic patients outnumbered Mounjaro patients by 3 times, researchers used information on age, race, income, health history and other aspects to create a gaggle of Ozempic patients that almost all closely matched Mounjaro patients. The result was a population of nearly 18,400 people evenly split between the 2 drugs.
Before the primary dose of medication, the typical weight of individuals in each groups was 243 kilos. But it didn't take long for the 2 groups to differ from one another.
After accounting for unmeasured influences that might have confounded the outcomes, the Truveta team found that weight reduction was 2.4 percentage points higher in Mounjaro patients than in Ozempic patients after three months, 4.3 percentage points after six months, and 6.9 percentage points after one yr.
Mounjaro also outperformed Ozempic when it comes to patients' success in reaching various milestones inside a yr of beginning to take either drug.
Nearly 82% of Mounjaro patients lost a minimum of 5% of their body weight, in comparison with 67% of patients taking Ozempic. Similarly, 62% of Mounjaro patients and 37% of Ozempic patients lost a minimum of 10% of their baseline weight, while 42% of Mounjaro patients and 18% of Ozempic patients lost a minimum of 15% of their baseline weight.
The researchers didn’t investigate the biological mechanisms of the 2 drugs, but study leaders Tricia Rodrigueza senior applied scientist at Truveta Research, said Mounjaro could also be simpler because it really works in two ways moderately than simply one.
The large difference in effectiveness was not accompanied by a measurable difference in the speed of moderate or severe negative effects reminiscent of intestinal obstruction and pancreatitis, which were rare in patients in each groups. The researchers didn’t compare the chance of milder problems reminiscent of nausea and vomiting because people wouldn’t necessarily report these to their doctor, Rodriguez said.
Regardless of which drug they took, patients with type 2 diabetes lost less weight than patients without the disease, the researchers found. This may very well be explained by the incontrovertible fact that certain diabetes treatments could cause weight gain and that some patients eat more throughout the day to maintain their blood sugar levels low. change into too lowsaid Freeby.
It can be possible that folks who sought prescriptions for Ozempic or Mounjaro with the goal of shedding weight were more motivated to proceed taking the drug, even when it was expensive or caused unpleasant negative effects, or that they were more more likely to adopt other behaviors that promote weight reduction, Rodriguez said.
Finding this out is “a crucial topic for future research,” she said.
People currently taking Ozempic probably have a more pressing query on their minds: Should I switch to Mounjaro?
Nick Stuckyan infectious disease physician at Providence Portland Medical Center and lead creator of the study, said the outcomes alone shouldn’t prompt patients to stop taking a drug that works for them. The risk of negative effects, insurance coverage and availability of the drug also must be considered.
“Although tirzepatide was significantly more effective than semaglutide, patients taking both drugs experienced significant weight loss,” said Stucky, who can be vice chairman of research at Truveta.
Freeby agreed with this opinion.
“If someone is doing well with a drug, why make trouble?” he said.
Freeby added that Ozempic (and its sister drug wayswhich is approved by the FDA specifically for weight reduction) has a minimum of one advantage over Mounjaro (and Zepboundits counterpart for weight reduction): In clinical studies, Ozempic has been shown to cut back the chance of heart attacks, strokes and other Cardiovascular problems in addition to Kidney failure.
“At this point, we don’t have a lot of data on Mounjaro when it comes to secondary outcomes,” he said.
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