Eli Lilly has released new data addressing a fundamental hurdle in obesity treatment: weight regain after discontinuing GLP-1 therapy. The findings suggest that switching to lower injectable doses or oral medications can help patients preserve their weight loss progress over the long term.
The Low-Dose Strategy: Surmount-Maintain Study Published in The Lancet, this trial focused on patients who lost an average of 50 pounds (23 kg) after 60 weeks of high-dose Zepbound treatment. The results during the 12-month maintenance phase showed:
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Continued high-dose group: Lost an additional 2 pounds.
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Tapered low-dose group (5mg): Regained only about 12 pounds. This suggests that a “maintenance dose” is significantly more effective than stopping treatment entirely.
The Oral Switch Strategy: Attain-Maintain Study Appearing in Nature Medicine, this study evaluated transitioning patients from injectables (Wegovy or Zepbound) to Lilly’s newly launched oral drug, Foundayo:
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Wegovy switchers: After an initial loss of 41 pounds, they regained less than 2 pounds while on Foundayo.
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Zepbound switchers: After losing 55 pounds, they regained 11 pounds over a year on the oral medication.
These findings provide a clinical roadmap for managing obesity as a chronic condition, offering patients more convenient, non-injectable options to sustain their results without the burden of permanent high-dose injections.