Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common form of diabetes mellitus, making up about 90-95% of all diabetes cases worldwide. Type 1 diabetes comes from the immune system destroying the insulin-making beta cells. T2D develops differently: the body’s cells grow steadily more resistant to insulin, and the pancreas cannot make enough insulin to overcome it. The condition is strongly linked to obesity, inactivity and genes, and it has risen sharply alongside obesity around the world.

Incretin-based drugs have transformed T2D treatment over the past two decades. GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide and liraglutide lower blood sugar strongly and cause significant weight loss, tackling two core parts of the disease at once. Retatrutide, a triple agonist of the GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors, is the next step in this approach. In Phase 2 trials, it substantially lowered HbA1c in people with T2D, and many reached the <7.0% target linked to fewer diabetic complications.

T2D and obesity feed each other: excess body fat worsens insulin resistance, and insulin resistance encourages more fat storage. Treatments that tackle both at once, sometimes called treating “diabesity,” are therefore extremely valuable. Retatrutide’s record weight loss in clinical trials, together with its strong glucose-lowering effect, could make it a major new treatment for the millions of people living with T2D and obesity.