New weight loss drug combination helps patients lose 54 pounds in less than a year

Combining two weight loss treatments can allow patients to shed almost a quarter of their overall body weight, according to health experts.

Researchers found that pairing Mounjaro, commonly dubbed the King Kong of weight loss jabs, with a new therapy called Elora produces greater reductions than taking Mounjaro on its own.

Trial participants on the maximum dosage of the dual combination shed an average of 23.3 per cent of their total body mass, delegates at a medical conference were told.

For individuals involved in the trial, this reduction represented an average drop of almost four stone.

Scientists noted that some participants lost an amount of weight comparable to what would typically be expected from bariatric surgery.

The clinical study, presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2026 annual meeting in Milan, evaluated data from 367 adults who were classified as being overweight or obese and living with type 2 diabetes.

At the start of the study, the average body weight was 232.4lb – or 105.4kg.

People were split into nine groups, with some taking different strength doses of Elora, also known as eloralintide; some taking varying doses of Elora along with Mounjaro, which is also known as tirzepatide; others were just given tirzepatide; while a final group were given a dummy drug, known as a placebo.

Both Elora and tirzepatide, both made by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, were taken as two separate pen injections.

Elora is a type of drug known as an amylin receptor agonist which regulates blood sugar and promotes fullness.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor agonists, like tirzepatide, slow down digestion and also help regulate blood sugar levels.

People taking Elora alone lost 11.1 per cent of their total body weight after 48 weeks, when they were taking the highest dose studied, 9mg of the drug, representatives of the conference said.

Those taking the combination of Elora and tirzepatide, also known as EloraTZP, lost an average 23.3 per cent of their body weight when taking the highest dose combination – 9mg of Elora and 15mg of tirzepatide, they added.

This equates to an average loss of 54.1lb over 48 weeks, conference officials said.

A quarter of the people taking 9mg of Elora and 15mg of tirzepatide lost 30 per cent of their total body weight, the conference was told.

Dr Liana Billings, director of clinical and genetics research in diabetes and cardiometabolic disease at Endeavor Health in Illinois in US and lead author of the research, said: “A quarter of people achieved a greater than 30 per cent weight reduction threshold in the high dose combination arm, and this degree of weight loss is comparable to what we see in metabolic surgery.”

All people in the study saw an improvement in their blood sugar over the 48-week study period, with those on the highest dose of the drug combination seeing the most reductions.

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes are interconnected, and we are seeing the potential benefit of targeting multiple hormonal pathways to address both,” Dr Billings said.

“Across the dose combinations studied with eloralintide and tirzepatide, participants had substantial weight loss alongside meaningful reductions in HbA1c.

“These are outcomes that matter to patients.

“We need to continue building on these findings so that in the future, we can offer patients more treatment options that address both weight and blood sugar control and better reflect the complexity of living with type 2 diabetes and obesity.”

The most common side-effects noted among people in the study were gastrointestinal and they were generally mild or moderate, it was reported.

Experts said these were usually seen during “dose escalation” and were more common among people taking the drug combination rather than those taking Elora or tirzepatide on their own, conference officials added.

The study is a phase 2b study, which tests the safety and efficacy of the drug before it is tested in a larger group of people.

Dr Billings added: “I just want to highlight the point that we now have the opportunity with medications and combinations like this to be able to personalise our approach for our patients and be able to make sure we’re addressing their weight loss needs as well their glucose needs by different levels and combinations of these medications.”