Tirzepatide, a new diabetes drug administered weekly through injection, helped those with type 2 diabetes meet blood glucose goals 4 to 12 weeks earlier than those receiving conventional diabetic drugs.
The phase 3 SURPASS trials, which were published in 2021, proved that tirzepatide reduces blood sugar and promotes weight reduction better than other type 2 diabetes (T2D) drugs.
The latest analyses of the SURPASS-2 and SURPASS-3 trials, which were presented at 2022’s European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, discovered that adults treated with various doses of injectable tirzepatide (5, 10, and 15 mg) reached blood glucose targets about four weeks sooner than those treated with injectable semaglutide (1 mg), and between four and 12 weeks sooner than those treated with once-daily insulin (degludec; iDeg), along with diet and exercise and oral glucose-lowering medications.
“Tirzepatide is unique because it mimics two natural insulin-releasing and appetite-suppressing hormones in one injection”, says lead author Dr. Adie Viljoen, a Consultant Metabolic Physician and Chemical Pathologist from the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, UK.