New ‘triple-G’ diabetes drug beats Ozempic on weight loss and blood sugar in head-to-head trial

A new experimental diabetes drug has outperformed Ozempic — one of the world’s best-known diabetes medicines — on both blood sugar control and weight loss in a head-to-head trial, its maker Eli Lilly announced on 28 October 2026.

The drug, retatrutide, is a once-weekly injection nicknamed “triple-G” because it acts on three different hormone pathways at once. In the late-stage trial, people taking the higher dose lost an average of 20.9 per cent of their body weight, more than double the 9.4 per cent lost by those taking Ozempic. Both doses of retatrutide also lowered blood sugar more than Ozempic over 80 weeks.

The results matter far beyond the pharmaceutical industry. Diabetes now affects an estimated 589 million adults worldwide — about one in nine — and Pakistan has the highest age-standardised diabetes rate in the world, with about 34.5 million adults living with the disease, according to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas 2025.

At a glance

What happened: Eli Lilly said on 28 October 2026 that its experimental drug retatrutide beat Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic in a head-to-head late-stage trial in people with type 2 diabetes. Retatrutide lowered HbA1c — the standard measure of average blood sugar — by 2.2 per cent on average, compared with 1.8 per cent for Ozempic, and the higher dose produced 20.9 per cent weight loss versus 9.4 per cent.

Why it matters: Retatrutide is the first drug to target three hormone receptors at once — GLP-1, GIP and glucagon — and the trial suggests this “triple-G” approach can deliver weight loss close to the level seen with bariatric surgery. For countries like Pakistan, where about a third of adults have diabetes, more effective treatments could change the course of the disease for millions of people.

What happens next: Lilly plans to seek approval for retatrutide in the United States next year, and will present the detailed trial results at a future medical meeting. A separate late-stage trial is testing retatrutide directly against tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro. The drug is not yet approved or available anywhere.

What the trial found

The trial compared two doses of retatrutide — 9 mg and 12 mg, given once a week — with a 2 mg dose of Ozempic, the diabetes drug made by Novo Nordisk. Lilly said it used the 2 mg dose as the comparator because it is the highest approved dose of Ozempic available.

Both doses of retatrutide lowered HbA1c by an average of 2.2 percentage points, compared with 1.8 percentage points for Ozempic, after 80 weeks. HbA1c is a blood test that shows average blood sugar levels over the previous two to three months, and it is the standard measure doctors use to judge how well diabetes is controlled.

The weight-loss difference was larger. People on the higher 12 mg dose of retatrutide lost 20.9 per cent of their body weight on average, compared with 9.4 per cent for those on Ozempic. In previous studies, retatrutide has already shown weight loss at a level similar to bariatric surgery — the stomach operations used to treat severe obesity — and analysts say the new data strengthens its position as potentially the most powerful drug in the booming weight-loss market.

Retatrutide also delivered greater improvements than Ozempic across certain cardiovascular risk factors, Lilly said, although the company has not yet published the full breakdown.

“Overall, the data reaffirms retatrutide’s differentiated efficacy across weight and glycemic control, strengthening its position as a key long-term cardiometabolic growth driver,” said Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham, quoted by Reuters.

Novo Nordisk pushed back on the comparison. Ambre James-Brown, the company’s head of global media, said Ozempic should not be judged on weight loss alone, noting that the highest doses of the diabetes drug have also shown benefits for heart, kidney and liver health.

What is a “triple-G” drug?

To understand why retatrutide may work better than earlier drugs, it helps to know how this family of medicines works.

The first generation of these drugs, including Ozempic, mimics a gut hormone called GLP-1. GLP-1 helps the body release insulin after eating, slows down digestion, and reduces appetite. That is why people taking these drugs feel full sooner and eat less.

The second generation added a second hormone, GIP, which also affects insulin and appetite. Tirzepatide — sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss — is a dual GLP-1 and GIP drug, and it has already shown greater weight loss than Ozempic in trials.

Retatrutide goes one step further. It activates three receptors: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that raises blood sugar, which sounds like the opposite of what a diabetes drug should do — but it also increases the rate at which the body burns calories. The idea behind combining all three is to suppress appetite, improve blood sugar control and increase energy burning at the same time.

That is why the drug has been nicknamed “triple-G”. It is given as a once-weekly injection, like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Why it matters for Pakistan

Few countries have more at stake in diabetes research than Pakistan. According to the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas 2025, about 34.5 million Pakistani adults aged 20 to 79 are living with diabetes — the fourth-highest total in the world, after China, India and the United States. Adjusted for age, Pakistan’s prevalence rate of 31.4 per cent is the highest in the world: nearly one adult in three.

Around 26.9 per cent of people with diabetes in Pakistan — roughly 9.3 million people — do not know they have it, according to the IDF. Undiagnosed diabetes can silently damage the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves for years before it is discovered, leading to heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness and amputations.

The financial cost is also enormous. Pakistan’s annual spending on diabetes care has risen to about 2.7 billion US dollars, according to the IDF, and the number of cases is projected to reach 70.2 million by 2050 if preventive measures are not taken.

That is why new treatments matter — but they are only part of the picture. Weight loss of the size seen in the retatrutide trial can transform diabetes control, and in some people can even push the disease into remission. A separate trial published in October 2026 found that a structured diet and exercise programme put type 2 diabetes into remission in 54 per cent of adults under 45. Drugs and lifestyle changes are not rivals: doctors say the best results usually come from combining them, with medicines supporting the weight loss that diet and exercise begin.

What retatrutide is — and what it is not

It is important to be clear about the limits of this announcement. Retatrutide is an experimental drug. It has not been approved by any medicines regulator, it is not available to patients, and Lilly has said it plans to seek approval in the United States next year — which means it would still be years away from reaching patients in Pakistan, if it ever does.

The results announced on 28 October were top-line figures released by the company. The detailed data have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal or presented at a medical conference, so independent experts have not yet had the chance to examine them in full.

The trial also does not answer every question. It compared retatrutide with Ozempic, but the more interesting comparison for many doctors is with tirzepatide — the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound — which is already a stronger competitor than Ozempic on weight loss. Lilly is running a separate late-stage study testing retatrutide directly against tirzepatide in adults with obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes. Those results will matter more for judging where retatrutide fits.

Safety is another open question. Drugs in this family commonly cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and reduced appetite, especially when the dose is increased. The Reuters report of the trial did not include a detailed breakdown of side effects, so it is not yet possible to say how retatrutide’s safety compares with Ozempic’s.

Cost will also decide who benefits. Ozempic and similar drugs already cost hundreds of dollars a month in many countries, putting them out of reach for most patients in Pakistan. A newer, more powerful drug is likely to be expensive at first. Unless prices fall or cheaper versions become available, the people who need these medicines most may be the last to get them.

The bigger race

Retatrutide is part of a fast-moving race among drug companies to build better medicines for diabetes and obesity — two conditions that are now among the world’s biggest killers.

Ozempic, made by Novo Nordisk, became a household name as its weight-loss version, Wegovy, surged in popularity. Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound then challenged it with stronger weight loss. Retatrutide is Lilly’s next step: if it is approved, it would be the third generation in a family of drugs that has transformed the treatment of obesity in less than a decade.

The stakes are high for the companies. Analysts quoted by Reuters said retatrutide is widely expected to fuel Lilly’s next wave of growth after the success of Zepbound and Mounjaro, and Jefferies analysts had earlier forecast hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for related products.

But the stakes are higher for patients. The World Health Organization estimates that diabetes was directly responsible for about 1.6 million deaths in 2021, and that high blood glucose caused about 2 million deaths that year. Obesity, which drives much of type 2 diabetes, is rising in almost every country. Medicines that can produce 20 per cent weight loss could, if they reach the people who need them, prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and blindness on a large scale.

Frequently asked questions

What is retatrutide?

Retatrutide is an experimental once-weekly injection made by Eli Lilly. It is nicknamed “triple-G” because it acts on three hormone receptors — GLP-1, GIP and glucagon — to reduce appetite, improve blood sugar control and increase calorie burning. It is not yet approved by any regulator.

How did it compare with Ozempic?

In a late-stage trial reported on 28 October 2026, both doses of retatrutide lowered HbA1c (average blood sugar) by 2.2 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent for Ozempic, over 80 weeks. People on the higher 12 mg dose lost 20.9 per cent of their body weight, compared with 9.4 per cent on Ozempic.

When will retatrutide be available?

Lilly plans to seek approval in the United States next year. It has not announced a launch date, and the drug is not available to patients anywhere yet. It would likely take years to reach Pakistan, if it does at all.

Is retatrutide safe?

The full safety data have not been published yet. Drugs in this family commonly cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Anyone considering any diabetes medicine should discuss it with their doctor — this article is general information, not medical advice.

How common is diabetes in Pakistan?

Very common. The International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas 2025 estimates that about 34.5 million Pakistani adults have diabetes, and that the age-standardised prevalence of 31.4 per cent is the highest in the world. About 9.3 million people with diabetes in Pakistan do not know they have it.

Can weight loss reverse type 2 diabetes?

In some people, yes — this is called remission. A trial published in October 2026 found that a structured diet and exercise programme put type 2 diabetes into remission in 54 per cent of adults under 45 after 24 weeks. Remission is not a cure: blood sugar can rise again if weight returns, and any weight-loss plan should be discussed with a doctor.

Conclusion

The retatrutide results are a genuine advance: a drug that lowers blood sugar more than Ozempic and produces more than double the weight loss is a significant step in diabetes treatment. But it is a step on a long road, not the end of it. The drug is still experimental, its full data are unpublished, and its price and availability are unknown.

For Pakistan, where nearly a third of adults live with diabetes, the lesson is broader than any single drug. Better medicines are coming, and they will help many people. But the most powerful tools against diabetes remain the ones that cost nothing: a healthy diet, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting tested — because the 9.3 million Pakistanis who have diabetes without knowing it cannot be treated until they are found.

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not medical advice. It reports on a clinical trial of an experimental drug that is not approved or available. Do not start, stop or change any diabetes medicine or weight-loss treatment without consulting a qualified doctor.

Sources

• Reuters (via Duke FM), “Lilly’s retatrutide outshines Ozempic on weight loss, blood sugar control in trial” (28 October 2026). https://dukecountry.fm/2026/10/28/lillys-next-gen-drug-outshines-ozempic-on-weight-loss-blood-sugar-control-in-trial/
• International Diabetes Federation, Diabetes Atlas, 11th edition (2025) — Pakistan country data, as reported by Medical News Pakistan and The Nation. https://www.medicalnews.pk/02-Dec-2025/pakistan-tops-global-list-for-diabetes-prevalence-2025
• World Health Organization, “Diabetes” (fact sheet). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
• Dasgupta K et al., “Low energy diet plus supervised exercise vs. usual care alone in people with early-onset type 2 diabetes (RESET for Remission)”, The Lancet Regional Health – Americas (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2026.101664