Eli Lilly has announced that its investigational GIP and GLP-1 inhibitor tirzepatide showed superiority over Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic in a Phase III trial.

The SURPASS-2 study compared the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg to Ozempic (semaglutide) 1 mg in adults with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes, as an add-on to metformin.

All three doses of Lilly’s drug demonstrated superior HbA1C and body weight reductions compared to Ozempic 1 mg.

Specifically, the HbA1C reductions were -2.09% for the 5mg dose, -2.37% for the 10mg dose and -2.46% for the 15 mg dose, compared to -1.86% for the Ozempic 1 mg dose.

In addition, tirzepatide also led to significant weight reductions – -7.8 kg (5 mg), -10.3 kg (10 mg), -12.4 kg (15 mg) – compared to -6.2kg for Ozempic (1 mg).

The number of participants who achieved HbA1C <7% was also greater across all tirzepatide doses compared to the Ozempic 1mg group, with statistical significance met for 10 mg and 15 mg but not for 5 mg.

Tirzepatide’s safety profile was similar to other GLP-1 drugs, with the most commonly reported adverse events including nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

Lilly reported that treatment discontinuation rates due to adverse events were 5.1% for tirzepatide 5 mg, 7.7% for tirzepatide 10 mg, 7.9% for tirzeparide 15 mg and 3.8% for Ozempic 1 mg.

“This data suggest[s] that tirzepatide has the potential to be a new treatment option to help people with type 2 diabetes better manage HbA1C and weight,” said Kunal Gulati, senior medical lead diabetes, Lilly Northern Europe.

“As a leader in diabetes care, Lilly is proud to be researching and developing solutions that can lead to meaningful HbA1C reductions and weight loss to help meet the needs of people with type 2 diabetes,” he added.