HQ Team
August 1, 2024: Eli Lilly and Company’s Zepbound or trizepatide injection to treat obesity reduces the risk of heart failure, hospitalisation and cardiovascular death by 38%, according to a statement from the Indianapolis-headquartered firm.
Zepbound, used in weight-loss treatment, also cut risk by the same score on oral diuretic intensification patients. It led to a 15.7% weight loss in a combined population of people with and without type 2 diabetes.
During the end trials, Zepbound’s efficacy in non-diabetic people for weight loss was 13.9% compared to 2.2% for a dummy drug, trial results showed.
The trial enrolled 731 patients across 10 countries, including the US, Russia, China and India, who have heart failure with a condition called the preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity.
‘Half of heart failure cases’
The primary objective was to reduce the risk of the composite endpoint of time-to-first occurrence of urgent heart failure visits, heart failure hospitalization, oral diuretic intensification and cardiovascular death to study completion. The median follow-up was 104 weeks.
The second was to observe changes in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Clinical Summary Score from baseline to week 52.
The trials also showed improvement in exercise capacity as measured by the 6-minute Walk-Test Distance, reduction in the inflammation marker high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and mean body weight reduction from baseline at 52 weeks.
“HFpEF accounts for nearly half of all heart failure cases, and in the U.S. almost 60% of those impacted also live with obesity. Despite a continuing increase in the number of people with both HFpEF and obesity, treatment options remain limited,” said Jeff Emmick, MD, PhD, senior vice president, of product development, at Eli Lilly.
“Previous incretin studies in this population focused on symptoms and physical limitations. In a first-of-its-kind trial, tirzepatide reduced the severity of symptoms and improved heart failure outcomes in people with HFpEF and obesity.”
Swelling of extremities
HFpEF is a condition in which the heart’s left pumping chamber becomes stiff and unable to fill properly.
It is associated with a high burden of symptoms and physical limitations affecting daily life, including fatigue, shortness of breath, reduced ability to exercise and swelling of extremities.
Tirzepatide was approved by the FDA as Mounjaro for adults with type 2 diabetes to improve glycemic control on May 13, 2022.
Zepbound was approved on November 8, 2023, for adults with obesity or those who are overweight and also have a weight-related comorbid condition. Both Mounjaro and Zepbound should be used as an adjunct to diet and exercise.
