Lilly goes head-to-head again, this time in obesity

There seems to be little Lilly enjoys more than duking it out with an opponent: in the past it has pursued head-to-head trials in Alzheimer’s, migraine and autoimmune conditions. Yesterday the group said it would start Surmount-5, a head-to-head trial of tirzepatide and Novo’s Wegovy in obesity. The design is still under wraps, but the study will use Wegovy’s highest approved dose, 2.4mg. This is a maintenance dose, so weight loss will have to be measured over the long term to provide a fair comparison. The big question for tirzepatide in obesity is whether Lilly can file before a cardiovascular outcome study read outs in 2024; execs said yesterday on an earnings call that a meeting to discuss that with the FDA will happen soon. Other obesity updates included the generic name for the triple-G agonist, retatrutide, which is already in phase 2, and that an amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist had reached phase 1. Lilly's GLP-1/glucagon agonist mazdutide is no longer listed as an obesity project in Lilly’s investor presentation, despite excellent showing on weight loss in phase 1. Chief medical officer Dan Skovronsky seemed to suggest that mazdutide might still be viable as a weight loss product, however.