An update on Retatrutide (May 2025)
We take some time to check in on Retatrutide -- an update on how research and trials are progressing, and relevant news.
Retatrutide is a GLP1 Receptor Agonist being developed by Eli Lilly that we posted about last year:
GLP1.Guide Staff
So how's it going with Retatrutide? Well things are progressing quite nicely – some key research was released in January and so this is a great time (better late than never!) to go through and see what's changed on the Retatrutide front.
Meta-analysis: Reta outperforms other GLP1s
In January of this year, a metastudy/research paper found that retatrutide was wonderfully effective:
Areesha Moiz
In particular, once-weekly Retatrutide at 12mg produced greater weight loss than other GLP1s:
Retatrutide (12 mg once weekly) produced greater weight loss of up to 22.1% (CI, 19.3% to 24.9%) after 48 weeks; other novel single and combination GLP-1 agents were also efficacious to varying degrees
Retatrutide may reduces cancer progression (in a 🐭 model)
Retatrutide may also reduce the progression of cancer in people. While the study is pre-clinical (i.e. there were not human patients but instead mice), it's a promising result:
Sandesh J. Marathe
This effect is likely not unique to Retatrutide, given that the benefits stem from weight loss that can be achieved via other GLP1s.
That said, taken in combination with the fact that Retatrutide may be more effective than other GLP1s, it's great to see the early research panning out in the right direction.
Eli Lilly is currently enrolling participants in a 3 year study of Retatrutide
One of the great things about GLP1 Receptor Agonists is the extensive research that goes into making them and the bar for research in the area, especially when compared to other weight management "solutions".
Eli Lilly is currently enrolling for a roughly 3 year study:
Eli Lilly
Many people have realized that this is one of the best ways to get access to GLP1s (especiallyat a reduced cost), so communities have popped up around this:
Communities are building around Retatrutide
There are at least a few places where you can find news and users of Retatrutide, often leaving very positive reviews and raving about how effective the new formulation is:
In fact buzz around is so large for Retatrutide that some communities have started to question whether the hype is undeserved:
Is Retatrutide overhyped?
by u/ExitBudget in moreplatesmoredates
At the same time, we do believe in presenting all options that are available in a balanced manner, and trusting adults to make their own choices.
To be clear -- at present, the only guaranteed safe way to receive Retatrutide is via a medical trial.
Chronic Kidney Disease: Retatrutide helps those with obesity, but not T2D
One interesting result for Retatrutide was from a meta-analysis performed into how patients suffering from obesity benefited from Retatrutide:
This meta-analysis only pulled data from 2 studies (which is likely reasonable given how limited data there is on Retatrutide so far), but it found that benefits in chronic kidney disease were mostly experienced by people with obesity after taking Retatrutide, not those who were slimmer.
From this it's easy to extrapolate that the benefits of Retatrutide are linked mostly to weight loss and the resulting health benefits.
Buzz grows around Retatrutide, with caution about side-effects resurfacing
The class of GLP1 Receptor Agonist drugs have side effects that are well studied, and while buzz has grown about retatrutide, many are urging caution:
Conor Seery
The article above crystalizes the trend – it notes the meteoric rise in popularity of Retatrutide, with the warning that the drug is so effective that kidney stones have ocurred:
Another lost nearly a third of their body weight in eight months and developed kidney stones, a potentially dangerous condition.
Kidney stones are one of the most dangerous side effects which we've covered before:
GLP1.Guide Staff
Any extreme weight loss can result in pancreatitis and/or gall stones, so Retatrutide as a treatment is at risk, and one of the only deaths that has been reasonable to attribute to GLP1s has been due to this very risk.
Other than this risk, other negative side effects of Retatrutide seem to be on par with other, more popular GLP1s – the larger risk seems to be due to just how effective Retatrutide is.
Definitely a case of "suffering from success".
The FDA is already cautioning against compounded Retatrutide
As the battle between compounding pharmacies, the FDA, and commercial entities manufacturing GLP1s has mostly played out, but it looks like in the future there won't even be a battle over Retatrutide:
The FDA has sent out warnings (for example to state medical boards) regarding the fact that Retatrutide does not fall under exemptions that would allow compounding:
This is similar to an FDA announcement made back in December of 2024:
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
Clearly, there won't be the same confusion around whether Retatrutide can be compounded or not, but hopefully accessibility of GLP1 RAs in general will continue to improve over time and prices will fall.
