FDA approves Eli Lilly's tirzepatide as Zepbound for obesity treatment
On 8 November 2023 the US FDA approved Eli Lilly's dual-action drug tirzepatide for chronic weight management, marketed as Zepbound.
This summary was written by AI to complete the context; it is not based on a current source.
On 8 November 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the American drug regulator) approved tirzepatide, made by Eli Lilly, for chronic weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight and at least one weight-related condition. It was sold under the name Zepbound.
Tirzepatide was the first approved obesity drug to act on two gut hormones: GIP and GLP-1. Earlier drugs such as Novo Nordisk's semaglutide, sold as Wegovy and Ozempic, target only GLP-1. The same molecule had already been approved for type 2 diabetes in 2022 as Mounjaro. Approval for obesity rested on the SURMOUNT clinical trials, in which participants lost a substantial share of their body weight, in the higher-dose groups often around 20 percent.
The decision mattered because it gave patients and doctors a rival to semaglutide and intensified competition between Lilly and Novo Nordisk. It also set a new benchmark for weight loss from medication, which later drug developers have tried to beat while addressing concerns such as muscle loss, side effects and cost.
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Next-generation obesity drugs after Ozempic · 3 updates
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