Researchers compared the safety and efficacy of tirzepatide (brand name Zepbound) and semaglutide (brand name Wegovy) in a 72-week clinical trial
It belongs to a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which help the body produce more insulin while providing glucose control in the liver
This leads to a drop in pain-related signals traveling to the nervous system
While these synthetic GLP-1 agonists have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in clinical trials, they are associated with a range of side effects, including common gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, which are often dose-dependent (Kommu S et al., 2025
Additionally, tirzepatide resulted in greater reductions in body weight compared to semaglutide, with estimated treatment differences of 1.9 kg (with 5 mg), 3.6 kg (with 10 mg), and 5.5 kg (with 15 mg)
For example, large cardiovascular outcome trials have shown reductions in major adverse cardiac events