A drug once known as the “King Kong” of weight-loss injections helps women lose substantially more weight than men, research shows.
The analysis found that women lost up to a quarter of their body weight using Mounjaro for up to 20 months.
Compared with 18 percent for men, according to trials involving more than 4,500 obese adults.
Experts said the reason for the variation is not yet known, adding that the results show it is an effective tool to combat obesity in both sexes.
The once-weekly injection is from a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that helps suppress appetite, reducing food intake.
The weekly injection is in a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that helps suppress appetite, reducing food intake.
Women lost up to a quarter of their body weight using Mounjaro for up to 20 months, analysis finds
The trials have also found that the drug tirzepatide increases the production of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, essential for controlling type 2 diabetes.
UK regulators provisionally approved it earlier this year for people with a body mass index of at least 35 and at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.
Eli Lilly researchers analyzed results from four of their trials, which included 4,677 obese adults who took the drug for up to 88 weeks.
In all trials, tirzepatide was associated with significant weight loss compared with patients in the placebo groups.
Similar levels of men and women were able to achieve weight loss goals of five, ten and fifteen percent, according to findings presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid.
But the effects were more substantial in women, with weight loss ranging from 11.5 to 27.6 percent of their total body weight, compared with 8.8 to 18.9 percent in men.
Presenting the results, Dr Luis-Emilio García-Pérez said more research is needed to understand why women lose more weight.
He said: “I don’t have any explanation at this time. It may be related to body fat distribution, it may be related to pharmacology, but we don’t have an answer yet.”
He added: “The safety profile was generally similar by sex, but a numerically higher incidence of nausea and vomiting was observed in women.”