Diabetes Drug Could Be Game Changer For Obesity And Weight Loss 6/07/22 Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Now, today, two of our series Beyond the Scale, and a new study this morning, pointing to a potentially game-changing drug that may help some people lose weight. NBC News medical contributor, Dr. Natalie Azar is with us with what we need to know. This sounds pretty amazing.

Speaker 2: (00:16)
Pretty astonishing results. The drug is called tirzepatide.

Speaker 3: (00:19)
Yes.

Speaker 2: (00:19)
Right? It’s a diabetes drug. The FDA had approved it for diabetes, but now this study shows those who are obese, but not diabetic had profound weight loss, 35 to 52 pounds.

Speaker 3: (00:30)
Yeah. I think it’s safe to say, you guys, that the experts who have responded to this study have done so with incredible enthusiasm. And it’s so important and so relevant. The majority of Americans are either overweight or obese, and the numbers really are striking. I think we have a graphic for our viewers up here. There were three different doses of the medicine that was given. The 15 milligram dose, people lost on average about 52 pounds. At 10 milligrams, they lost 49 pounds. And at five milligrams, they lost 35 pounds over a 72 week period. That’s almost a year and a half. These results, guys, are comparable to what we see in people who have gastric bypass.

Speaker 1: (01:10)
Wow.

Speaker 3: (01:10)
So bariatric surgery, and higher than the numbers that we have seen with some other drugs that are currently available on the market to treat obesity.

Speaker 1: (01:17)
How does the drug work?

Speaker 3: (01:18)
So it works, the drug actually exerts an effect on two really, really important hormones that have an effect in multiple different organs, the pancreas that increases the release of insulin so it can drop your blood sugar.

Speaker 1: (01:31)
Okay.

Speaker 3: (01:31)
And it also has an effect in the gut and in the brain. And you know that important gut brain connection.

Speaker 2: (01:36)
Yeah.

Speaker 3: (01:36)
So it actually helps suppress your appetite. It tells you that you’re full more quickly so you eat less, and it also slows how fast your stomach is emptying so you feel full faster.

Speaker 4: (01:46)
Okay. So what if you have a big event coming up when you want to drop a few pounds? Is this something that you should line up for? Is it even available for people just for weight loss?

Speaker 3: (01:53)
Right, Hoda. So it has not yet been approved. The drug company is hoping to get an expedited approval this year. It is, as Savannah mentioned, approved to treat type two diabetes, but it’s not ever going to just be a substitute for diet and exercise. And by the way, it’s going to be expensive in all likelihood. The drug approval for diabetes, it’s around a thousand dollars a month, so it’s going to be an adjunct.

Speaker 2: (02:17)
And you have to stay on it to have it keep working.

Speaker 3: (02:19)
Hugely important point.

Speaker 4: (02:21)
Yeah.

Speaker 3: (02:21)
But it’s important, right? We need this tool in the toolbox. There is vastly disproportionately less treatment for obesity as a chronic disease than other-

Speaker 1: (02:28)
Really quick, 10 seconds.

Speaker 3: (02:32)
-chronic diseases.

Speaker 1: (02:32)
Side effects?

Speaker 3: (02:32)
Very well tolerated GI, mostly nausea, vomiting. A lot of patients had to take an anti-nausea pill the day after, but seemingly well-tolerated.

Speaker 1: (02:40)
Okay. Dr. Natalie.

Speaker 2: (02:40)
Thanks Dr. Azar.

Speaker 1: (02:43)
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