Podcast episode 6 (in German)
Retatrutide: the most powerful weight-loss drug of the future fact-checked
July 12, 2026
Retatrutide operates no fewer than 3 hormone switches, and in a phase 2 trial participants on the highest dose lost on average around 24 percent of their body weight. The episode explains what lies behind the triagonist and what is still missing before approval.
What it is about
Retatrutide from Eli Lilly is a so-called triagonist: it activates the receptors for GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Semaglutide operates one of these switches, tirzepatide two. The newcomer glucagon is meant to boost energy expenditure and above all mobilize liver fat, so that stronger burning is added to the curbed appetite. The episode goes through the phase 2 trial from the New England Journal of Medicine, places the figures against the known weight-loss injections and looks at fatty liver, blood sugar, blood pressure and the preservation of muscle. At the end stands a very promising candidate that is still in the large phase 3 testing and is not approved until then.
Key points
- In the phase 2 trial by Jastreboff and colleagues, published in 2023 in the New England Journal of Medicine, participants on the highest dose lost on average around 24 percent of body weight after 48 weeks.
- For comparison, the episode gives roughly 15 percent for semaglutide and, depending on the dose, around 20 percent for tirzepatide.
- After 48 weeks, the weight curve under retatrutide had not yet reached a plateau; effects of this size had previously been known almost only from surgery.
- The glucagon arm, the 3rd switch, mobilizes liver fat particularly effectively: in studies, fatty liver almost disappeared in many participants, and blood sugar and blood pressure improved as well.
- The side effects resemble those of the GLP-1 family, above all nausea and a feeling of fullness at the start; glucagon can additionally raise the pulse slightly.
- As a report: many users of GLP-1 drugs describe that the constant circling of thoughts around food, the so-called “food noise”, becomes quieter.
- Anyone who loses a lot of weight quickly also loses muscle mass; enough protein and strength training are the 2 classic countermeasures, and the drug is considered an amplifier, not a substitute for habits.
Where the data stop
The 24 percent come from a phase 2 trial over 48 weeks. Whether efficacy and safety hold up in many thousands of people is to be shown by the TRIUMPH phase 3 trial series. Above all, it is open what the glucagon arm does to pulse and blood sugar in the long term; in the trials this was closely monitored. As of July 2026, retatrutide is not approved.
In the scene it circulates as a research peptide from the gray market, without tested production and without medical supervision; none of the trial figures apply to such goods. Even an approved drug would be a tool and not a substitute for diet and exercise, and the muscles need their own protection during rapid weight loss. Anyone following the development waits for the phase 3 data and discusses weight loss with a doctor.
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Published on July 12, 2026.
The topic in the database
- The most powerful weight-loss drug from the studies so far: a triple agonist from Eli Lilly at GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. Peer-reviewed: 24Retatrutide
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-10-09.