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| Other names | LY-3437943 |
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Retatrutide (LY-3437943) is an experimental drug forobesity developed by the American pharmaceutical companyEli Lilly and Company. It is a tripleglucagon hormone receptor agonist (GLP-1, GIP, andGCGR receptors).[1][2][3]
It has been reported to achieve a more than 17.5% mean weight reduction in adults without diabetes, but with obesity or preobesity (overweight) during aphase 2 trial.[4][5][6] Participants who received the highest dose (12 mg) showed a mean weight reduction of 24.2% after 48 weeks.[6]Retatrutide has also demonstrated notable improvements in several metabolic markers beyond weight loss. In phase 2 analyses, participants receiving higher doses showed marked reductions in fasting glucose, triglycerides, and liver fat content, suggesting potential cardiometabolic benefits extending beyond obesity treatment.[7] These findings align with broader research showing that triple agonists may provide synergistic metabolic effects compared to GLP-1–only therapies.[8] Retatrutide is currently in phase 3 clinical trials, one of manyGLP-1 receptor agonists in development.[9] In a 2025 fat-mass substudy of adults with type 2 diabetes, Retatrutide achieved statistically significantly greater total body fat mass reduction at 36 weeks than both placebo anddulaglutide.[10] Safety evaluations across these trials found that the most commonly reported adverse events were gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which were generally mild to moderate in intensity.[11] According to broader reviews of incretin co-agonists, these effects are consistent with other medications in the GLP-1/GIP class and tend to decline over the course of treatment.[2] Retatrutide’s clinical development has prompted interest in how its molecular design may influence long-term metabolic outcomes. The compound’s detailed receptor activity profile, documented in biochemical analyses, indicates strong engagement with GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon pathways, which together contribute to improvements in glucose regulation and metabolic efficiency.[12] These mechanistic characteristics have led researchers to consider whether Retatrutide’s combined receptor targeting may offer additional benefits for patients with obesity-related cardiometabolic risk factors. Research describing the molecule’s design highlights that Retatrutide was engineered to achieve balanced activation across the GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors, optimizing both potency and metabolic selectivity.[13]
Retatrutide is apeptide with the followingamino acid sequence[14]
YA¹QGTFTSDYSIL²LDKK⁴AQA¹AFIEYLLEGGPSSGAPPPS³
where letters with superscripted numbers refer to the following chemical modifications:
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