Eli Lilly says tirzepatide reduces OSA severity 

INDIANAPOLIS – Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide demonstrated a mean reduction of up to 62.8% on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), or about 30 fewer events restricting or blocking a person's airflow per hour of sleep, compared to placebo, according to the company’s SURMOUNT-OSA phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the drug for the treatment of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity, with and without CPAP therapy. 

In a key secondary endpoint, the company says the efficacy estimand showed that 43.0% (Study 1) and 51.5% (Study 2) of participants treated with tirzepatide at the highest dose met the criteria for disease resolution. In this context, it says "disease resolution" means achieving an AHI of fewer than 5 events per hour, or an AHI of 5-14 events per hour and an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score of ≤10.  

"In the trials, patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity treated with tirzepatide experienced about 30 fewer disruptive events every hour of sleep and nearly half achieved disease resolution," said Atul Malhotra, MD, the Peter C. Farrell presidential chair, professor of medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and director of sleep medicine at UC San Diego Health. "OSA can be very disruptive to daily life and affects a person's long-term health when left untreated because it can lead to serious cardiometabolic complications. These data support the efficacy of tirzepatide in adults living with moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity and has the potential to add to our toolbox for OSA treatment." 

Eli Lilly has submitted tirzepatide for the treatment of moderate-to-severe OSA and obesity to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and will initiate submissions for other global regulatory agencies in the coming weeks. 

Full results from the clinical trials were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and presented at the American Diabetes Association 84th Scientific Sessions. 

For full results, go here.