FDA Approves Mounjaro to Cut 8% Cardiovascular Risk in Type 2 Diabetes
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 28
FDA Approves Mounjaro to Cut 8% Cardiovascular Risk in Type 2 Diabetes
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 28
Summary
High-risk adults with Type 2 diabetes can now use Eli Lilly's Mounjaro to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke under a new FDA approval.
The decision followed a large trial in which Mounjaro beat Lilly's older diabetes drug Trulicity, cutting the rate of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke by 8%.
The label expansion gives patients another GLP-1-based option for heart-risk reduction; Lilly also sells the same tirzepatide molecule for weight loss as Zepbound.
The approval broadens GLP-1 use beyond weight loss as drugmakers chase a market Goldman Sachs estimates will reach $105 billion by 2030, with insurers generally more willing to cover diabetes and cardiovascular uses.
Mounjaro failed to prove superiority over an older drug for heart risks, so is the massive hype surrounding its new FDA approval truly justified?
With Mounjaro's new heart benefits, will life-saving GLP-1 drugs become a luxury only the wealthy can afford as employers slash coverage?
As next-generation drugs promise surgical-level weight loss by 2027, will the current boom in GLP-1 prescriptions face an unexpected and sudden collapse?