Two interesting new data points on GLP-1s in recent days.
The first is that Eli Lilly's new drug retatrutide ("RETA") has, in the latest studies, shown weight reductions of over 30% in some patients, levels previously seen mainly after obesity surgery. What makes RETA particularly interesting is that it is not just a classic GLP-1 agonist. The drug simultaneously activates three different metabolic signalling pathways. This appears not only to reduce appetite, but potentially also to increase energy expenditure and affect metabolism more broadly than earlier generations of drugs.
The second is a new study, highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and presented by Cleveland Clinic, which followed over 10,000 cancer patients and found that patients using GLP-1 medications had significantly lower tumour progression across several cancer types, including breast, colon, lung and liver cancer. In some analyses, roughly 38–50% lower progression was seen. It is important to underline that the research is still early and that GLP-1 should not be regarded as a cancer treatment. But the results are interesting enough that the research community is now looking much more closely at the connection between metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation and cancer biology.
At Executive Health we have followed the GLP-1 field very closely for several years, and we have ourselves seen results in our clients that have at times been close to life-changing.
