Eli Lilly announced Thursday that its experimental weight loss drug retatrutide demonstrated significant results in a late-stage clinical trial, with participants losing an average of 28% of their body weight after 80 weeks of treatment.

The pharmaceutical company said some participants lost up to 30% of their body weight, equivalent to approximately 85 pounds, during the trial period. Retatrutide is designed as a triple-agonist therapy that mimics three hormones involved in hunger regulation and fat metabolism.

The drug represents Eli Lilly's next-generation approach to weight loss treatment, building on the success of existing GLP-1 receptor agonists currently available in the market. The company described the trial as having cleared a crucial milestone for obesity treatment.

Retatrutide works differently from current weight loss medications by targeting multiple hormonal pathways simultaneously. According to early reports, the drug may help preserve muscle mass during weight loss, potentially addressing a common concern with rapid weight reduction therapies.

The trial results position retatrutide as potentially more effective than existing weight loss medications, though the drug still requires FDA approval before becoming available to patients. Eli Lilly has not announced a timeline for when the treatment might reach the market.