What the trial was testing
The SURMOUNT-2 enrolled 938 patients with type 2 diabetes. The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
People taking tirzepatide lost up to 15% of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared to 3% with placebo.
Lancet (London, England) · 2023 · NCT04657003
These findings — that people on the higher dose lost 15% of their body weight versus 3% on placebo — were published in the Lancet (London, England) and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 938 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with type 2 diabetes, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Tirzepatide is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and weight management. It's available now under brand names including Mounjaro (for diabetes) and Zepbound (for weight management). If you have type 2 diabetes and are struggling with weight, talk to your doctor about whether tirzepatide might be right for you.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open type 2 diabetes trials
A Randomized Phase 1/2 Trial of Low Dose Anti-thymocyte Globulin (ATG) With Subsequent Adalimumab or Verapamil in New Onset Type 1 Diabetes
This multi-center randomized controlled trial will assess the safety and efficacy of ATG followed by either adalimumab or verapamil in preserving insulin secretion 2 years from randomization in persons aged 9 to \<21 with recent-onset stage 3 T1D.
Evaluation of the Metabolic Surgery Technique for Glycemic Improvement in Type 2 Diabetes
Surgery is one of the management options for type 2 diabetes in patients with moderate obesity. This is a recent option because it has been part of the recommendations since October 2022. The possible surgical techniques are the same as those for bariatric surgery: * Sleeve, * Bypass, * Gastric band, but the main goal is not weight loss, it is remission of type 2 diabetes. It is called metabolic surgery. The ring technique (gastroplasty) is practiced less and less in France because it is less effective in weight loss and is responsible for major discomfort. Currently, metabolic surgery is one of the recommendations but no study has compared the effectiveness of the techniques with each other. One or other of the techniques can be chosen according to the preferences of the surgeon, the patient, the center, etc. but this choice is not made objectively, in the absence of comparative data. This study would like to follow up on patients for whom metabolic surgery has been proposed by the doctor,. If the surgery is accepted, this study would like to improve knowledge of the effectiveness of the different techniques, and thus demonstrate which metabolic surgery technique is preferred in terms of effectiveness and safety.