> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Zepbound Beats Wegovy in Trial: Lilly
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/zepbound-beats-wegovy-in-trial-lilly/
- Published: 2025-05-12T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T15:11:34.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5159158

In a head-to-head trial of two leading weight loss drugs, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) demonstrated significantly greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide), according to new data from a Phase 3b clinical study cited by Lilly. The findings are from the SURMOUNT-5 trial and were unveiled at the 32nd European Congress on Obesity and published simultaneously in *The New England Journal of Medicine*.The trial evaluated the two blockbuster drugs in adults with obesity or who were overweight who had at least one weight-related health condition but did not have diabetes.

Over a 72-week period, patients taking Zepbound lost an average of 20.2% of their body weight, compared to 13.7% for those taking Wegovy — a 47% greater relative reduction, Lilly says. In absolute terms, this translated to an average loss of 50.3 pounds (22.8 kg) for Zepbound users and 33.1 pounds (15.0 kg) for those on Wegovy.

Zepbound also outperformed Wegovy across all five key secondary endpoints, including the proportion of patients achieving at least 15% weight loss, according to the company. Nearly two-thirds (64.6%) of Zepbound users reached that milestone, compared to 40.1% of those on Wegovy. Waist circumference reductions were also greater with Zepbound, averaging 7.2 inches (18.4 cm) versus 5.1 inches (13.0 cm) for Wegovy.

Lilly says the safety profile for Zepbound in the study was consistent with earlier trials. Gastrointestinal side effects were the most common, typically mild to moderate. Treatment discontinuation due to side effects occurred in 6.1% of Zepbound users and 8.0% of those on Wegovy, noting that the trial was not designed to compare safety outcomes between the drugs.