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Tirzepatide, developed by American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), is a once-weekly injection that promotes weight loss by mimicking the effects of natural hormones called incretins. These hormones lower blood sugar after we eat, in addition to regulating metabolic processes related to digestion.
In the case of tirzepatide, which is not yet available on the market pending further clinical study, the drug is a synthetic combination of two particular incretins, called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide).
The former hormone, GLP-1, is the basis of the anti-diabetes medication semaglutide, which was approved in the US as a weight-loss drug in 2021, representing the first time the FDA had endorsed a new treatment for weight loss in several years.