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Mounjaro is everywhere at the moment, with celebrities, social media influencers and seemingly half of your friends or loved ones taking the jabs in a bid to quickly shed the pounds.
It could soon be a thing of the past though, as along with the forthcoming UK price rise of the popular weight loss drug, there’s a new kid on the block.
The makers of Mounjaro, Eli Lilly, are testing a replacement jab which has even higher success rates than its predecessor.
One social media creator, Ryan Read, shared on TikTok that the new drug is allegedly so effective that ‘two years from now, nobody will be using Mounjaro anymore’.
Celebrities such as Rosie O’Donnell, Meghan Trainor, Scott Disick and Amy Schuler have all been singing the praises of Mounjaro, but will everyone be making the switch in the coming years?
A new drug is being tested set to rival Mounjaro (Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)
Called Retatrutide, the new jab is similar to the likes of Wegovy and Mounjaro, but with one key difference.
It is still taken weekly like the other injections, but Wegovy (semaglutide) is created to mimic the GLP-1 hormone, while Mounjaro mimics both GLP-1 and GIP.
Retatrutide, however, works with three hormones.
As well as GLP-1 and GIP, it also uses glucagon, which is linked to appetite and metabolism. This combination of hormones is being referred to as the ‘triple G effect’.
The injection is currently in the clinical trial phase, but tests so far have found that participants lost much more weight than those on Mounjaro and Wegovy.
The cost of Mounjaro is set to increase in the UK, meaning people are looking for cheaper alternatives (Getty Stock Image)
GCG, a.k.a glucagon, increases your metabolism and can increase the amount of energy your body uses to burn fat.
In addition to the GLP-1 ability to slow digestion and suppress appetite, with GIP enhancing the release of insulin, the three together have been a triple whammy for weight loss.
This ‘triple G’ effect is what makes retatrutide one of the most advanced treatments in development. In clinical trials, it led to greater weight loss than any currently available medication
Retatrutide is now in the late-stage (phase III) clinical trial, which is due to end in May 2026.
The results from the phase II research have already been released by Voy, showing that those taking Retatrutide lose on average 24.2 percent of their starting weight after 48 weeks.
The new drug is still in clinical trial phases, and is set to be available after the middle of next year (Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)
By comparison, those taking Mounjaro had a 20.5 percent mean weight loss over the same period, while Wegovy had an 18 percent mean weight loss.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) now has to review the clinical trial results.
It is then up to them to confirm that Retatrutide is safe and effective to take, which at the earliest will be the middle of next year.
In terms of side effects, they seem similar to Mounjaro, with the most frequent reported being nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, and constipation.
Some people reported that they were losing weight too quickly and were experiencing nutritional deficiencies, as well as experiencing muscle loss.
With the price of Mounjaro set to rise soon in the UK, many people will be hoping for Retatrutide to cost less than the others, but no guideline on price has been released as yet.