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Drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are testing some of their most popular diabetes and weight loss drugs on patients as young as 6 years old.
Lilly, based in Indiana, plans to test tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, on children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes who are overweight or clinically obese, according to the drugmaker’s website.
“The purpose of this study is to learn more about the safety and effectiveness of tirzepatide compared to placebo in children or adolescents with type 2 diabetes taking metformin, or basal insulin, or both,” the company wrote.
The Eli Lilly trial will involve patients ages 10 to 18.
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Diabetes drug Ozempic, manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (Joël Saget/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Mounjaro was approved last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, in addition to diet and exercise. However, given its effects on weight loss, it is also used “off-label” to treat obesity.
The drug has gained popularity due to its ability to help patients lose weight. In Lilly’s latest earnings report, the company said its revenue rose nearly 30%, driven in part by “volume-driven growth from Mounjaro.”
The drug is considered a potential game-changer in the treatment of obesity, as it has helped overweight or obese people with diabetes lose up to 15.7% of their body weight. It is expected to be approved by federal health officials for weight loss by the end of the year.
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Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is also conducting a trial with its drug semaglutide, which has already been approved to help treat type 2 diabetes and control weight in adults through the branded drugs Wegovy and Ozempic.
According to the US government registry, Novo Nordisk will analyze the effect of semaglutide on the body weight of patients aged 6 to 18 who are obese or overweight.
Wegovy and Ozempic are the same drug – semaglutide – but Wegovy has been approved by the FDA for chronic weight management, while Ozempic has been approved for people with type 2 diabetes with weight loss as an effect secondary.
Packages of Wegovy move along a conveyor at the Novo Nordisk A/S production plant in Hillerod, Denmark, June 12, 2023. (Carsten Snejbjerg/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Both products gained popularity after celebrities touted their weight loss benefits and recently improved the company’s 2023 sales and operating profit outlook.
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Novo is also testing Saxenda in children as young as 6 years old, according to Bloomberg.
Saxenda is the brand name for liraglutide and was approved in 2020 for chronic weight management in pediatric patients 12 years and older who are obese, according to the FDA.
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