Mounjaro is approved by Anvisa; get to know the medicine – 09/25/2023 – Balance

The drug Mounjaro, from the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, was approved this Monday (23) by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The injectable is also used off-label, that is, to a purpose other than that indicated in the leaflet, for weight loss. It is part of the group of “slimming pens” in Brazil.

Last year, the anti-diabetic drug Ozempic, from Novo Nordisk, went viral on TikTok after boasting its good results for weight loss. Already approved by Anvisa for the treatment of diabetes, the medicine faced supply problems in the country’s pharmacies.

Wegovy, a similar medication, but with indications against obesity, was recently approved by Anvisa and should reach the Brazilian market in 2024. Like Ozempic, it has semaglutide as its active ingredient, but is available in higher doses.

The three medications simulate the effects of intestinal hormones that act on the feeling of satiety and the metabolism of the human body. The difference is that Mounjaro, the brand name for tirzepatide, mimics the action of glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide; Ozempic and Wegovy only simulate GLP-1.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine comparing these drugs found that tirzepatide use led to greater reductions in blood sugar levels and greater weight loss than the other products.

For the 15 mg dosage, the reduction recorded was, on average, 22% of body weight. For semaglutide, the average is a 15% weight reduction.

An analysis presented at the last European Congress on Obesity, in Dublin (Ireland), unraveled the effects of the drug for treating obesity using data from a 2022 study sponsored by Eli Lilly, the responsible pharmaceutical company.

The work showed that people with a higher BMI (body fat index) lost more weight over the course of 72 weeks, the time estimated by the original study to reach the so-called plateau (when the patient being treated for obesity stops losing weight).

An individual is considered to have reached a plateau when they lose less than 5% of their body weight over a period of 12 weeks.

According to the analysis, participants in the highest BMI range (from 40) lost twice as much weight as overweight users (rate less than 30). Furthermore, people with higher rates also maintained more intense weight loss after the first 24 weeks of treatment.

According to the original study, more than 80% of participants showed significant weight loss in 72 weeks, a time considered unprecedented when compared to other existing treatments.

The medicine exists in doses of 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg. Although higher doses caused more weight loss, the time to reach the plateau was similar between doses and different index ranges.

“As the individual loses weight, some defense pathways against this loss are activated and, with this, weight stabilization occurs”, Gláucia Carneiro told Sheet in June. The endocrinologist is responsible for the obesity outpatient clinic at Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo).

The study included participants with a BMI greater than 30 or over 27 with at least one comorbidity. The results contribute to the search for approval of the drug for the treatment of obesity. There is no recommendation for people who do not fit these criteria.