An Important Dose-response study for tirzepatide, a novel dual (GIP and GLP-1) Agonist (https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.13979)

There is considerable interest and anticipation in the metabolic profile of novel dual agonists currently in clinical development, especially Lilly's tirzepatide which is administered once weekly by subcutaneous injection. Dual agonists may be clinically useful both as anti-obesity and glucose-lowering agents. This phase II study of tirzepatide was conducted over 12-weeks in >100 patients with type 2 diabetes to evaluate different dose-escalation regimens using a placebo-controlled randomised design. The primary endpoint of the trial was HbA1c lowering after once-weekly tirzepatide vs placebo. Baseline HbA1c and BMI were 8.4% and 31.9, respectively. The authors report clinically significant HbA1c reductions with tirzepatide, and found that a lower starting dose, combined with smaller dose increments, resulted in better tolerability.