Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) has announced that its newest obesity drug called Retatrutide delivered what appears to be the highest weight loss yet in a late-stage clinical trial.
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As an added benefit, the next generation obesity medication also reduced knee pain due to arthritis. The strong trial results are the first of several studies planned for the weekly injection. Eli Lilly said that the highest dose of the drug helped patients with obesity and a type of knee arthritis lose an average of 23.7% of their body weight at 68 weeks.
The company added that some patients lost so much weight that they dropped out of the clinical trial. When evaluating only patients who stayed on the drug, the highest dose delivered an average weight loss of 28.7%. LLY stock is up 4% on Dec. 11 following news of the trial results.
A More Effective Weight-Loss Drug
This is the first late-stage data Eli Lilly has released on Retatrutide, which works differently from existing weight-loss injections and appears to be more effective. Eli Lilly is betting on Retatrutide as the next phase of its obesity portfolio after its weight-loss injection Zepbound and its upcoming pill called Orforglipron.
However, it remains unclear when Eli Lilly’s newest weight-loss drug could hit the market. It’s a critical part of the drug maker’s plan to maintain its market share and lead over archrival Novo Nordisk (NVO) in the market for obesity and diabetes drugs. Some analysts estimate that weight-loss drugs could generate annual revenues of $100 billion or more by 2030.
Retatrutide also met the trial’s other main goal of reducing knee pain caused by arthritis, a common condition that wears down the joint’s cartilage and leads to pain and stiffness. The drug reduced knee pain in trial participants by an average of 62.6%.
Is LLY Stock a Buy?
The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 20 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 18 Buy and two Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average LLY price target of $1,113.39 implies 8.21% upside from current levels.
