Lilly recently announced positive results from a pivotal clinical trial of Mounjaro that could lead to even stronger sales. Here's the rundown on these new developments, and on why Eli Lilly's shares are still worth buying.

The latest results from GLP-1 drugmaker Eli Lilly's clinical trial show that tirzepatide helped people maintain weight loss after 3 years. The results also indicate tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro,

TUESDAY, Aug. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Tirzepatide, the blockbuster GLP-1 medicine known as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss, cut the odds that an obese, prediabetic person will develop diabetes by 94%, a new trial shows.

While Mounjaro has no doubt been a monumental success, Lilly was also working on something else in the background. As Novo Nordisk did, Lilly developed an alternative version of its diabetes drug -- Zepbound -- which is aimed at treating obesity and also shares its main ingredient, tirzepatide, with Mounjaro.

Eli Lilly’s stock gained more than 2% premarket on Tuesday after the drugmaker said that tirzepatide, marketed as the diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss treatment Zepbound, sharply cut patients’ risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in a late-stage trial.

Shares of Eli Lilly LLY rose more than 3% on Tuesday after reporting long-term data from the late-stage SURMOUNT-1 study. Data from this study showed that treatment with tirzepatide over three years lowered the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) by 94% compared with placebo,