This week, after months of media hype, new research has confirmed that Ozempic is now second-best when it comes to weight loss.

The new drug, tripeptide, comes from American company Eli Lilly, and is popularly known as Mounjaro.

For three and a half years, the drug semaglutide – popularly known as Ozempic and Wegovy – has enjoyed worldwide manic hero status.

And for good reason: it actually helps people lose a significant amount of weight. Gosh, it even seems to have slimmed down Oprah for good!

The mania began in early 2021, when US researchers trumpeted the drug as a “game changer” in the management of obesity – and for once, a large, gold-standard clinical trial backed up the hype.

A single weekly injection of the drug semaglutide, for 68 weeks, saw an average loss of 15 percent body weight in trial participants.

More than a third of the participants who took the drug lost more than 20 percent of their weight.

This prompted the ordinarily sober New York Times, citing the researchers, to write: “For the first time, a drug has been shown so effective against obesity that patients may dodge many of its worst consequences, including diabetes.”

In fact, semaglutide was developed by Danish company Novo Nordisk primarily as a diabetes treatment. But it was the weight-loss benefits that set off a kind pharmaceutical gold rush.

From very early on, controversially, the manufacturers have struggled to keep up with demand. That remains the case.

The study that burst the bubble

According to a report at Healthline, a new study is the first to compare semaglutide and tripeptide “head-to-head in a real-world setting using healthcare data”.

In a large population of adults with overweight or obesity, the study found:

• Patients taking tirzepatide were three times as likely to achieve weight loss of 15 per cent or more compared to semaglutide.
• Across a one-year time period, patients taking tirzepatide were more than twice as likely to achieve a weight loss of 10 per cent or greater.
• Total weight loss at various intervals, including three, six, and 12 months, was also greater among those taking tirzepatide.
• The gap between the two drugs increased with time.
• At three months, the average weight loss for tirzepatide was 5.9 per cent compared to semaglutide’s 3.6 per cent.
• By one year, patients taking tirzepatide lost more than 15 per cent of their body weight. Those taking semaglutide lost about 8 per cent.

Reuters reports that shares in Novo Nordisk were down 1.9 per cent on Tuesday after the paper’s publication. The news isn’t expected to put a dent in sales.

The study was conducted by researchers at Truveta, an American  healthcare data and analytics company.

Similar safety profile

Both tirzepatide and semaglutide are part of a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (GLP-1).

They work by mimicking naturally-occurring hormones that control blood sugar and appetite. They cause weight loss by slowing digestion and promoting feelings of fullness and satiety.

Research has found these sort of drugs have the potential to treat more successfully a range of chronic diseases. A paper published this week found that drugs like Ozempic could reduce the risk of obesity-related cancers.

GLP-1 drugs are known to be associated with common gastrointestinal effects, including nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

More serious complications have also occurred, including bowel obstruction or ileus, which is potentially fatal.

Both Ozempic and Mounjaro resulted in a similar amount of adverse events, according to the Truveta study.