Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) made an announcement on Wednesday regarding the positive outcome of the SURMOUNT-OSA phase-3 clinical trial, which tested the effectiveness of the company’s obesity drug tirzepatide injection, marketed as Zepbound in the U.S., as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea or OSA.
Tirzepatide is sold in the U.S. under the brand names Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes. The pharmacological mechanism of Zepbound is similar to the GLP-1 and GIP hormones produced in the gut, which reduces hunger and food consumption.
During a 52-week trial with 469 participants, the company observed that obese patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea who received weekly injections of Zepbound experienced a significant reduction in apnea events per hour of sleep, averaging around 27-30 fewer events. In addition, Zepbound users lost close to 20% of their body weight while taking the medication.
Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Lilly, explained that over 80 million adults in the U.S. suffer from OSA, out of which more than 20 million have moderate-to-severe OSA. Surprisingly, 85% of the population who have OSA remain undiagnosed and untreated, leading to severe side effects like heart failure, hypertension, and stroke.
Analyst Chris Schott from JPMorgan Chase believes that Lilly now has a pathway to gain Medicare Part D coverage for Zepbound because of the new data on sleep apnea patients, even in the absence of any changes to the federal program’s coverage of obesity treatments.
The company plans to submit the trial results to the FDA and other international regulatory bodies by the middle of the year. The company also plans to make the complete data available at the American Diabetes Association conference in June.
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