Triple-action diabetes jab shown to reduce blood sugar and body weight

Retatrutide is designed to control appetite and blood sugar but also increase body’s energy expenditure, unlike other drugs A new triple-action weekly jab for type 2 diabetes could significantly reduce blood sugar and body weight, according to phase 3 trial results. Patients in the trial receiving weekly retatrutide injections for 40 weeks lost more than four times as much weight as those on placebo, while the average drop in long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) was more than twice that of the placebo. The triple hormone drug mimics three gut hormones that help control your appetite, blood sugar and metabolism: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Unlike other diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which primarily target the GLP-1 pathway to suppress appetite, or Mounjaro, which contains GLP-1 plus GIP to control blood-sugar levels, retatrutide also engages the glucagon receptor, which helps increase energy expenditure. In the trial, published in the Lancet, 930 adults with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to receive 4mg, 9mg or 12mg of retatrutide, or placebo. None were already taking diabetes medicines, while all had inadequately controlled blood-sugar levels and BMIs of at least 23