Lilly’s Mounjaro Shows Heart Benefits in Landmark Trial for Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Eli Lilly and Company has announced positive topline results from its landmark SURPASS-CVOT trial, a large-scale Phase 3 study comparing two widely used diabetes drugs—Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Trulicity (dulaglutide)—in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease.

Mounjaro, a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, demonstrated non-inferior cardiovascular protection compared to Trulicity, a GLP-1 receptor agonist already proven to reduce major cardiovascular events. The head-to-head trial, which enrolled over 13,000 participants across 30 countries over more than four and a half years, is the largest and longest study of tirzepatide to date.

In the trial, Mounjaro reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE-3)—a composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke—by 8% compared to Trulicity (hazard ratio: 0.92; 95.3% CI: 0.83 to 1.01), meeting the criteria for non-inferiority.

Importantly, Mounjaro also showed a 16% reduction in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 0.84; 95.0% CI: 0.75 to 0.94) and improvements in blood sugar (A1C), body weight, and kidney function, though these were not adjusted for multiple comparisons.

“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among people living with type 2 diabetes,” said Kenneth Custer, Ph.D., executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health. “The SURPASS-CVOT results show that Mounjaro preserved the cardioprotective benefit of Trulicity while offering additional clinical advantages. These findings support Mounjaro as a compelling front-line option for patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Further analysis comparing trial data with placebo-controlled studies suggested Mounjaro could reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by 28% and all-cause death by 39% compared to a putative placebo. In participants with high or very-high risk of chronic kidney disease, Mounjaro slowed kidney function decline significantly more than Trulicity.

These findings are expected to strengthen the position of Mounjaro not just as a glucose-lowering drug but as a potential cornerstone therapy for managing both diabetes and cardiovascular risk.