--- title: "Mounjaro Appears to Be Extremely Effective at Preventing Diabetes" description: "A new study has found that Mounjaro may not only be good at treating diabetes, but could actually help prevent the disease." date: "2024-11-16" modified: "2024-11-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/mounjaro-prevents-diabetes-study" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "Diabetes" - "eli lilly" - "glp-1" - "mounjaro" --- # Mounjaro Appears to Be Extremely Effective at Preventing Diabetes ![A new study has found that Mounjaro may not only be good at treating diabetes, but could actually help prevent the disease.]() *CARLSBAD, CA-NOV 30TH: Rachel Graham holds a Mounjaro injectible pen at her home in Carlsbad, CA on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. Graham has battled excess weight for years, cycling through trendy diets, various drugs, and even bariatric surgery. she started a new medication, Mounjaro, and now is 30 pounds lighter(Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post via Getty Images) \Image: Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post via Getty Images\* A new study has found that one of the top names in the groundbreaking new class of weight loss drugs may not only be good at treating diabetes, but could actually help *prevent* the disease. In a new study [published in the *New England Medical Journal*](), researchers found that tirzepatide, the active ingredient in [Eli Lilly's Mounjaro]() diabetes treatment and Zepbound weight loss injectable, cut the risk of developing diabetes by a whopping 94 percent in people who are at high risk of the disease. Funded [by Lilly]() as part of a Phase 3 trial into the efficacy of its flagship glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist — which, like Novo Nordisk's chemically similar semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, [mimics the body's feeling of fullness]() — this more than three-year-long study involved over 2500 subjects who were overweight and considered pre-diabetic. In a randomized and double-blind experiment, the researchers from an international consortium of medical schools had patients take weekly injections of either a placebo shot or one with either 5, 10, or 15 milligrams of tirzepatide. As they found at the end of the 176-week trial, those who took the tirzepatide not only lost a significant amount of weight, but also seemed to be far less likely to develop diabetes. Of the overall group taking the tirzepatide, only 1.3 percent received a diabetes diagnosis by the end of the lengthy trial, whereas 13.3 percent of the placebo group developed it. While some studies have suggested that people who lose weight on GLP-1 drugs are likely to gain it back after they stop taking it (though the data is [somewhat mixed]() on that point) this trial found that the apparent protective benefits for developing diabetes seemed to last. After 17 weeks, only 2.4 percent of those who took active tirzepatide were diagnosed with diabetes — which as the [*New York Times* notes](), suggests that the drug helped the pre-diabetic and overweight trial participants keep their blood sugar under control. That same *NYT* writeup points out that other studies conducted with Novo's Ozempic and Wegovy suggest that the active ingredient in those drugs, semaglutide, [may offer similar protective benefits](). Should these results bear out in future trials, it may be [yet another health benefit]() provided by these drugs — though their [sky-high prices]() and spotty insurance coverage means that most people still can't afford them. **More on GLP-1s:** [*Semaglutide So Effective at Treating Arthritis That Patients Were “More or Less Were Treated Out of the Study”*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()