Mounjaro Is Now Approved to Lower the Risk of Heart Events

—Peter Dazeley—Getty Images While the popular GLP-1 medications continue to help people control diabetes and weight , the versatile drugs are also starting to address other health conditions as well.

On Aug.

28, the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Mounjaro to lower the risk of heart events, including heart attack, in people with diabetes.

Made by Eli Lilly and Company, Mounjaro is already approved to help manage blood sugar.

Mounjaro affects two of the hormones in the incretin class—GLP-1 and GIP—that have become powerful targets for controlling blood sugar and weight.

In the study Lilly submitted to the FDA, researchers compared heart events among people with Type 2 diabetes who either took Mounjaro or another Lilly drug for diabetes, called Trulicity, which targets only GLP-1.

People taking Mounjaro had an 8% lower rate of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death compared to those taking Trulicity.

In previous studies, Trulicity helped people with and without a history of heart conditions to lower their risk of having a heart event by 12% compared to those receiving placebo.

“This study was in patients with Type 2 diabetes, in whom the No.

1 cause of death is cardiovascular disease,” says Dr.

Rachel Batterham, senior vice president of medical innovation and external engagement for cardiometabolic health at Lilly.

“So reducing that risk is critically important.” Batterham says Lilly decided to compare Mounjaro’s potential in reducing heart risk to an existing drug, Trulicity, that already reduced heart risk to see if Mounjaro would have any additional benefit.

“We set ourselves a very high bar,” she says.