Tirzepatide VS Semaglutide: Who is More Effective in Losing Weight？
On August 29, 2022, Musk posted on Twitter that he had successfully lost weight, losing 20 pounds (approximately 9 kilograms) in just one month. When answering a question from netizens about the secret to losing weight quickly, he stated that the secret is fasting and Wegovy.
Wegovy is the trade name of Semaglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk, and is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. This drug was originally used to treat type 2 diabetes. Due to its excellent weight loss effect, it was approved by the FDA as a weight loss drug in June 2022.
Musk’s Twitter has caused Smegglutide to become a sensation and has received widespread attention from the general public. In China, Smeglutide is only approved for type 2 diabetes and has not been approved for weight loss, but this does not affect its sales in China.
Total Sales of Semaglutide
According to the 2022 financial report released by Novo Nordisk, Semaglutide has a total sales revenue of nearly $12 billion, of which 2 billion yuan is sold in China. Since its listing, Novo Nordisk’s market value has doubled to $340 billion, second only to Johnson among pharmaceutical companies and surpassing pharmaceutical giants such as Lilly, MSD, Roche, Pfizer, and Novartis.
Semaglutide Great Challenge
But Novo Nordisk also faces huge potential challenges due to its success with Semaglutide. The third phase clinical trial of Tirzepatide from Lilly showed that after 72 weeks of treatment, participants lost an average weight of up to 22.5% (24 kilograms). This is the best result of weight loss through medication to date, surpassing semaglutide.In peptide laboratories such as Omizzur lab, in-depth research can be conducted on semaglutide and its impurities
Tirzepatide can achieve such beneficial effects because it is a dual acting agonist of glucose dependent insulin stimulating peptide (GIP) receptors and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors, while semaglutide is a glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist.
It can be foreseen that after being approved for the market as a weight loss drug, Tirzepatide is likely to seize the market share of Semaglutide, leaving little time for Semaglutide.
On March 24, 2023, Novo Nordisk released the data of the phase 3b clinical trial of oral Semaglutide in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
This clinical trial compared the effect of higher doses of oral semaglutide (25mg, 50mg) with the previously approved 14 mg dose in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The main endpoint of this clinical trial was achieved. At week 52 of treatment, 25mg and 50mg doses of oral semaglutide showed a significantly better reduction effect on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) than the 14 mg dose, and the weight loss effect was also significantly better than the 14 mg dose.
The experiment reached its main endpoint, with a significant decrease in HbA1c at 25mg and 50mg doses at week 52, superior to the reduction in HbA1c at a 14 mg oral dose of simvastatin.
From the perspective of the investigational drug, the average baseline HbA1c of patients was 9.0%, with a decrease of 1.5%, 1.9%, and 2.2% in HbA1c in the 14mg, 25mg, and 50mg dose groups, respectively; The average baseline weight of the patients was 96.4kg, and the 14mg, 25mg, and 50mg dose groups showed weight reductions of 4.5kg, 7.0kg, and 9.2kg, respectively.
From the perspective of treatment strategies, the average baseline HbA1c of patients was 9.0%, with a decrease of 1.5%, 1.8%, and 2.0% in HbA1c in the 14mg, 25mg, and 50mg dose groups, respectively; The average baseline weight of the patients was 96.4kg, and the 14mg, 25mg, and 50mg dose groups showed weight reductions of 4.4kg, 6.7kg, and 8.0kg, respectively.
In this clinical trial, all doses of oral semaglutide seemed to have good safety and tolerability. The most common adverse event is gastrointestinal reactions, with the majority being mild to moderate and decreasing over time. Gastrointestinal adverse events were most prominent during the dose increase period, with oral administration of 25mg and 50mg being more frequent than oral administration of 14mg.
Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president of Novo Nordisk, said that he was glad to see the results of these clinical trials, which further demonstrated the benefits of oral semaglutide for patients with type 2 diabetes. If additional blood sugar control or weight loss is required, 25mg and 50mg doses are more effective options.
Novo Nordisk is expected to apply for regulatory approval in the United States and the European Union in 2023. The global promotion of 25mg and 50mg doses depends on the priority of the product portfolio and production capacity.
Tirzepatide VS Semaglutide
The oral version of Semaglutide can to some extent alleviate the pressure from Tirzepatide, and needle injection is a difficult obstacle for some people to overcome, while the oral version will undoubtedly have higher acceptance. Of course, the actual use effect, side effects, and price are the greater determining factors.
In June 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the launch of Semaglutide, a weight loss drug developed by Novo Nordisk, under the trade name Wegovy.
This drug was originally used to treat diabetes. It is a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which can simulate its effect to reduce hunger, diet and calorie intake. Therefore, it has a prominent effect on weight loss.
The risk factors of heart disease and diabetes such as waist circumference, blood fat, blood sugar and blood pressure of people who lose weight after using Semaglutide are reduced, and their overall quality of life is also improved. Clinical trials have shown that nausea and diarrhea are the most common adverse events, but they are usually brief, with severity ranging from mild to moderate, and subside over time.