Eli Lilly reported that its experimental drug retatrutide outperformed Ozempic (semaglutide 2 mg) in the 80-week Phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-2 head-to-head trial of 1,298 adults with type 2 diabetes.
Both retatrutide doses lowered HbA1c by 2.2 percentage points, versus 1.8 points with Ozempic. Lilly said the difference was statistically significant for both doses.
Average weight loss was 19.5% with retatrutide 9 mg and 20.9% with 12 mg, compared with 9.4% with Ozempic. The results were reported by Lilly on October 28, 2026.
Tolerability is a consideration:
reports say gastrointestinal effects such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting were more common at the higher retatrutide dose. Discontinuation due to adverse events was reported at 7.9% for 12 mg versus 2.7% with Ozempic.
These are company-reported trial results for an investigational medicine; retatrutide is not yet an approved treatment. The topline findings need to be interpreted alongside the full trial data and future regulatory review.
Sources:
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