Ever since social media started describing weight loss associated with semaglutide , theis drug has become hot commodities which is “Currently in Shortage.”       

That has been true for many months. Until the weight loss hype, it was pricey, but available. Now it, and the identical drug Wegovy, are hard to find.

Tirzepatide for Weight Loss?

On July 27, 2023, the Eli Lilly drug company announced the results of two clinical trials:

“Participants in SURMOUNT-3, after 12 weeks of intensive lifestyle intervention, achieved an additional 21.1% mean weight loss with tirzepatide for a total mean weight loss of 26.6% from study entry over 84 weeks

“Participants in SURMOUNT-4 achieved 21.1% weight loss during a 36-week tirzepatide lead-in period and an additional 6.7% weight loss during a 52-week continued treatment period, for a total mean weight loss of 26.0% over 88 weeks

That’s impressive.

How Does Tirzepatide Compare to semaglutide When It Comes to Weight Loss?

The FDA put out an announcement about its approval of semaglutide for “chronic weight management” on June 4, 2021:

“The largest placebo-controlled trial enrolled adults without diabetes. The average age at the start of the trial was 46 years and 74% of patients were female. The average body weight was 231 pounds (105 kg) and average BMI was 38 kg/m2.      
Individuals who received Wegovy lost an average of 12.4% of their initial body weight compared to individuals who received placebo. Another trial enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes.The average age was 55 years and 51% were female.The average body weight was 220 pounds (100 kg) and average BMI was 36 kg/m2. In this trial, individuals who received Wegovy lost 6.2% of their initial body weight compared to those who received placebo.”

Based on this report from the FDA, it would appear that tirzepatide is substantially more effective than semaglutide when it comes to helping people lose weight.

Will People Have to Take Tirzepatide Continuously to Maintain Weight Loss?

The SURMOUNT-4 clinical trial results have now been published in JAMA (Dec. 11, 2023).  For the first 36 weeks of the study, all 670 participants used tirzepatide.In other words, there was no placebo arm of this trial for the first 9 months. During that time, they lost on average about 20 percent of their body weight. That is quite an achievement.

At that point, the investigators randomly assigned the participants to receive placebo injections or to continue with tirzepatide injections.Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who was getting which treatment. A year later, almost 90 percent of those on tirzepatide had maintained at least 80 percent of their initial weight loss.
On average, they continued to lose weight, though at a slower rate than initially.

In contrast, volunteers on placebo had regained much of the weight they had initially lost.       They ended the year with an average gain of 14 percent of their body weight.