Retatrutide references — every citation used in this digest

Phase 1 and pharmacokinetics

Studies establishing retatrutide's first-in-human safety, pharmacokinetics, and the ~6-day half-life supporting once-weekly dosing.

^[7] Eli Lilly and Company. A Study of LY3437943 in Healthy Participants (NCT04143802). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04143802

^[4] Urva S, Coskun T, Loh MT, et al. LY3437943, a novel triple GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon receptor agonist in people with type 2 diabetes: a phase 1b, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, multiple-ascending dose trial. Lancet. 2022;400:1869–1881. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02033-5. PMID: 36354040. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36354040/

Phase 2 clinical trials

Pivotal Phase 2 randomized controlled trials in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and MASLD.

^[1] Jastreboff AM, et al. Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity — A Phase 2 Trial. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(6):514–526. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2301972. PMID: 37366315. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37366315/

^[2] Rosenstock J, et al. Retatrutide, a GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist, for people with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, double-blind, placebo and active-controlled, parallel-group, phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10401):529–544. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01053-X. PMID: 37385280. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37385280/

^[5] Sanyal AJ, Kaplan LM, Frias JP, et al. Triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a randomized phase 2a trial. Nature Medicine. 2024;30:2037–2048. doi:10.1038/s41591-024-03018-2. PMID: 38858523. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11271400/

Structural and mechanistic studies

^[3] Li W, Zhou Q, Cong Z, et al. Structural insights into the triple agonism at GLP-1R, GIPR and GCGR manifested by retatrutide. Cell Discovery. 2024;10:77. doi:10.1038/s41421-024-00700-0. PMID: 39019866. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11255275/

Phase 3 trials and registrations

^[7] Eli Lilly and Company. A Study of LY3437943 in Healthy Participants (NCT04143802). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04143802

^[8] Eli Lilly and Company. A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) Once Weekly in Participants With Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes (TRIUMPH-2) (NCT05931367). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05931367

^[9] Eli Lilly and Company. A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) in Participants With Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease (TRIUMPH-3) (NCT05882045). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05882045

^[10] Eli Lilly and Company. The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Kidney Function (NCT06383390). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06383390

^[11] Eli Lilly and Company. A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) Compared to Tirzepatide (LY3298176) (NCT06662383). ClinicalTrials.gov, 2024. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06662383

Reviews and secondary analyses

^[6] Katsi V, Koutsopoulos G, Fragoulis C, Dimitriadis K, Tsioufis K. Retatrutide — A Game Changer in Obesity Pharmacotherapy. Biomolecules. 2025;15:796. doi:10.3390/biom15060796. PMID: 40563436. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12190491/

^[12] Caruso I, et al. Incretin-based therapies for the treatment of obesity-related diseases. npj Metabolic Health and Disease. 2024. doi:10.1038/s44324-024-00030-5. PMID: 40604322. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44324-024-00030-5

^[13] Kusminski CM, et al. Transforming obesity: The advancement of multi-receptor drugs. Cell. 2024. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.003. PMID: 39059360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.06.003

^[14] Naeem M, et al. Unleashing the power of retatrutide: A possible triumph over obesity and overweight: A correspondence. Health Science Reports. 2024. doi:10.1002/hsr2.1864. PMID: 38323122. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1864

^[15] Panou T, et al. Retatrutide in type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity: an overview. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology. 2026. doi:10.1080/17512433.2026.2642415. PMID: 41785010. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2026.2642415