Novo Nordisk's (NVO.US) semaglutide (trade name: Wegovy) set off a storm in the weight loss industry in 2023, making the drug the most dazzling star product. However, Eli Lilly and Company's (LLY.US) tirzepatide has emerged as a potential challenger. According to data and analytics company GlobalData,Strong clinical data on weight loss efficacy will allow tilpotide to surpass semaglutide and become the best-selling drug in the obesity and diabetes market, with sales expected to reach US$27 billion in 2029.

Tilpotide received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its obesity indication in November 2023 (trade name: Zepbound). In early December, Eli Lilly announced that its weight loss drug Zepbound has been launched in U.S. pharmacies and is suitable for adults who are too obese.

It is reported that the main ingredient of Zepbound is tilpotide. The working principle of tilpotide is to imitate hormones, stimulate the release of insulin, increase satiety and reduce appetite. Eli Lilly's tilpotide has been on the market since 2022 as Mounjaro, a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

At the end of November, Truveta Research, a research organization in the healthcare field, released a large-scale analysis based on patient data in the healthcare system. The analysis found that Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which contains tirzepatide, was more effective than Novo and Nordisk's Ozempic, which contains semaglutide, in adults who are overweight or obese.

The above analysis compared approximately 18,000 overweight or obese patients taking Lilly's tilpotide drugs Mounjaro and Novotel from May last year to September this year. Nearly 52% of these patients also had type 2 diabetes. The analysis found that taking the former was more likely to achieve weight loss than the latter.Patients taking Mounjaro were 1.8 times more likely to lose 5% of their body weight, six times more likely to lose 10%, and three times more likely to lose 15% than those taking Novotel.

After taking the medicine for a period of time, the results showed that Mounjaro’s weight loss effect was better than that of Novotel. After taking Mounjaro for three months, the median weight loss of patients was 5.9%, and after taking Novotel for the same period of time, the median weight loss of patients was 3.6%.After taking Mounjaro for six months, patients lost a median of 10.1% of their weight, while Novota users lost 5.9%. After one year of taking Mounjaro, patients lost a median of 15.2% of their weight, while Novota users lost 7.9%.