RETATRUTIDE

How does Retatrutide work?

Retatrutide has been nicknamed ‘Triple G’. This is because it targets three different receptors and hormones - GLP-1, glucagon and GIP (1). Glucagon and GIP are naturally released when you eat food, and play a role in reducing appetite, lowering blood sugar, and helping the body burn fat (1).

This means Retatrutide can support people to reduce weight in three ways:

Suppress appetite and slow digestion, meaning you’re not as hungry as often and feel fuller for longer Increase fat metabolism, so your body breaks down fat quicker Increase insulin sensitivity, which reduces blood sugar, causing the body to break down stored fat What does Retatrutide treat? Retatrutide has been predominantly developed for weight loss for people with obesity and is proving promising (1).

It might also be used to treat type 2 diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, a person’s insulin either doesn’t work properly, or there is not enough of it, causing blood sugar levels to become too high (2). This can cause individuals to feel tired and thirsty, lose weight unintentionally, and need to pee more than usual (2).

Some people can also experience blurred vision, slower healing of cuts and wounds, thrush that keeps coming back, or itching around the penis or vagina (2). Since Retatrutide targets glucagon receptors, increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing blood sugar, it could be an effective treatment for people with type 2 diabetes (1).

Investigations into Retatrutide’s effectiveness in fatty liver disease are also underway. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a term that covers several conditions that are caused by fat building up in the liver (3).

This usually affects people who are overweight or living with obesity, or who have type 2 diabetes (3). NAFLD can cause the liver to become inflamed, which can lead to scarring and damage, and then even liver failure (3). Since Retatrutide may be able to reduce liver fat in people with obesity, it could also prevent the progression of NAFLD (2).

Is Retatrutide better than Wegovy and Mounjaro? Currently, Wegovy and Mounjaro injections are available to support weight loss.

Whilst Wegovy targets GLP-1 and Mounjaro targets GLP-1 and GIP (4), neither target glucagon receptors. This means that retatrutide, with three targets, could be more effective (1).

Testing has already shown that Retatrutide can help participants lose more weight in a shorter amount of time (1). Studies show that Retatrutide has achieved 28.7% weight loss in just over a year (68 weeks) (1). This is the highest percentage weight loss ever recorded in a trial for an obesity drug.

Over a longer period of time (72 weeks), Mounjaro has shown a 22% loss in weight, and Wegovy has shown 17% (4). This is also more than another upcoming injection, CagriSema, which has shown 23% weight loss in over a year (68 weeks) (5).