The Diabetes Drug That Could Overshadow Ozempic

Over the last year, the injectable diabetes medication Ozempic steamrollered through TikTok, talk shows and tabloids as people raved about using it off-label to lose weight. Then the hype intensified this fall around Wegovy, a similar medication approved for weight management.

Another diabetes drug, called Mounjaro, is now gaining attention, with many people using it off-label to lose weight. Some research has found that Mounjaro may be even more powerful than either Ozempic or Wegovy. A recent 72-week trial, funded by Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures Mounjaro, found that around half of participants who were both obese and had diabetes lost around 15 percent of their body weight while taking tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro.

And in October, another Eli Lilly-funded study found that people who had obesity or were overweight and had already lost at least five percent of their body weight with diet and exercise changes lost another 21 percent of their body weight, on average, after 72 weeks on tirzepatide.

Mounjaro is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat only Type 2 diabetes. “Mounjaro is not a weight loss drug,” the official website for the medication reads, under larger, bold purple letters proclaiming that people taking it have lost up to 25 pounds. But the F.D.A. is reviewing Eli Lilly’s data on weight loss, and could authorize the medication for weight management by the end of 2023.

“The F.D.A. generally cannot confirm, deny or comment on a pending/potential product application,” a representative of the agency wrote in an email.

Demand is already mounting: After a two-month shortage, Mounjaro is now largely back in stock, though many diabetes patients are still struggling to access it, said Dr. Andrew Kraftson, a clinical associate professor in the division of metabolism, endocrinology and diabetes at Michigan Medicine. Dr. Kraftson frequently urges patients looking for Mounjaro to try calling different pharmacies, he said, adding that he has had to adjust some doses to stretch out the medication.