Lilly's EASD 2026 Disclosures: TRIUMPH-2 Phase 3 Retatrutide Data, ACHIEVE-4 Foundayo Cardiovascular Findings, and a First Look at eloraTZP Phase 2

Key takeaways

• Eli Lilly's 15 September press release confirmed it will present Phase 3 TRIUMPH-2 data for retatrutide at the EASD 2026 meeting in Milan (28 September – 2 October), showing up to 20.8% average weight loss and a 1.6% A1C reduction at 80 weeks in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes.
• Phase 3 ACHIEVE-4 data for Foundayo (orforglipron) will also be presented, with hazard ratios of 0.84 for MACE-4 and 0.77 for MACE-3 versus insulin glargine, suggesting a potential cardiovascular signal.
• Phase 2 data for eloraTZP — an investigational combination of the amylin receptor agonist eloralintide and the dual agonist tirzepatide — will be unveiled; Phase 1 results showed 17% weight loss at 16 weeks when eloralintide was added to tirzepatide 5 mg, versus 10% with tirzepatide alone.
• Retatrutide remains investigational. No regulator has approved it, and Lilly does not plan to submit an FDA application until 2027 or later; procurement of unapproved versions is illegal.
• Lilly filed six lawsuits against US entities in August 2026 for selling illicit retatrutide, and has flagged more than 14,000 online listings to platforms and regulators in more than 100 countries.

The EASD 2026 data package

On 15 September 2026, Eli Lilly announced plans to present new data across its cardiometabolic portfolio at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), taking place September 28 to October 2, 2026, in Milan, Italy. The announcement is notable for research-procurement professionals because it represents the most comprehensive public disclosure yet of the company's next-generation peptide pipeline, spanning three distinct mechanistic approaches.

The presentations will include Phase 3 data for retatrutide and Foundayo (orforglipron), along with Phase 2 results for eloraTZP, an investigational combination of eloralintide and tirzepatide.

Retatrutide: TRIUMPH-2 Phase 3 findings

An EASD-sponsored symposium on 30 September will present Phase 3 results for retatrutide, an investigational once-weekly GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon triple receptor agonist.

Pivotal Phase 3 TRIUMPH-2 results showed adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes lost up to an average of 49.6 lbs (22.5 kg; 20.8%) and reduced A1C by up to 1.6% at 80 weeks. The TRIUMPH-2 study is specific to patients who also carry a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, distinguishing it from the previously reported TRIUMPH-1 obesity-only cohort.

For context, semaglutide, a single GLP-1 receptor agonist, established roughly 15% average weight loss in its pivotal obesity trials, while tirzepatide, which adds the GIP receptor, raised that to around 21%. The TRIUMPH-2 figure of 20.8% in a type 2 diabetes population — where weight loss is typically attenuated compared with non-diabetic cohorts — is therefore a clinically meaningful outcome.

Earlier in the TRIUMPH programme, retatrutide, a first-in-class GIP, glucagon, and GLP-1 triple hormone agonist, met all primary and key secondary endpoints in TRIUMPH-4, delivering significant weight loss and improvements in pain and physical function after 68 weeks.

Lilly is still compiling data and does not plan to submit an application for FDA approval of retatrutide until next year. A regulatory filing was described by The Hill as expected by year-end 2026, though it is investigational, with a regulatory filing expected in late 2026 and approval not likely before 2027 or 2028.

Foundayo (orforglipron): ACHIEVE-4 cardiovascular data

Phase 3 ACHIEVE-4 data for Foundayo in type 2 diabetes demonstrated non-inferiority versus insulin glargine, with hazard ratios of 0.84 for MACE-4 and 0.77 for MACE-3 in adults at increased cardiovascular risk. These hazard ratios suggest potential cardiovascular benefit, though Lilly has characterised the ACHIEVE-4 findings as suggesting "the potential to provide cardiovascular benefits" rather than as a confirmed outcome — a distinction that matters when interpreting the data's regulatory weight.

Foundayo received MHRA authorisation earlier in 2026 as the UK's first approved oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist. The ACHIEVE-4 data, to be presented in full at EASD, may inform future label updates and prescribing practice in markets where it is already authorised.

eloraTZP: amylin plus dual agonist — Phase 2 incoming

Lilly plans to unveil Phase 2 data for eloraTZP, an investigational combination of eloralintide, a selective amylin receptor agonist, and tirzepatide, a GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist. Earlier Phase 1 results showed that adding 3 mg of eloralintide to 5 mg of tirzepatide produced 17% weight loss over 16 weeks, compared with 10% with tirzepatide 5 mg alone in adults with obesity or overweight. The combination is designed to leverage complementary mechanisms involved in appetite, satiety, glucose regulation and weight management.

The amylin receptor is distinct from the incretin receptors targeted by existing approved GLP-1 and dual agonists. Amylin is a pancreatic peptide co-secreted with insulin; its receptor agonism slows gastric emptying and suppresses glucagon in a manner that is mechanistically additive to GLP-1 signalling. The Phase 1 signal — a 7-percentage-point increment over tirzepatide alone in 16 weeks — has attracted attention, although the Phase 1 data are short abstracts of two Phase 1b studies with no data on adverse events beyond that "the majority were gastrointestinal and were mild to moderate in severity," and the number of patients in each arm was small, usually just 12–16, with drop-outs in most arms.

Phase 2 data for eloraTZP will be presented at EASD 2026. These data will be the first substantive signal of whether the Phase 1 weight-loss increment is sustained at scale and across longer durations.

Tirzepatide: further SURMOUNT-5 proteomic analysis and SURPASS-CVOT

SURMOUNT-5 exploratory proteomic findings show that Zepbound 10 mg and 15 mg were associated with distinct changes in the plasma proteome compared with semaglutide 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg, offering early biological insight into the differences in cardiometabolic benefit observed between the two therapies in the head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial.

Lilly will also present additional findings for Mounjaro (tirzepatide), including results from SURPASS-CVOT in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. Mounjaro demonstrated non-inferiority versus Trulicity, with an 8% lower risk of MACE-3 events, while also producing greater reductions in A1C and body weight.

The illicit-market context: retatrutide enforcement

The EASD data disclosures are occurring against an active enforcement backdrop. Lilly filed six lawsuits against US companies it accuses of illegally selling black-market versions of retatrutide, targeting a range of businesses including compounding pharmacies, medical spas, and online sellers that allegedly marketed retatrutide products to consumers despite the drug remaining under clinical development.

The defendants are Aesthetic Envy Cosmetic Centers, Astra LLC, Legendary Peptides, Striker Pharmacy, Texas Peptides, and Lone Star Peptide Co. Lilly said some sellers falsely market retatrutide products as being for "research use only" when they are intended for human use, and that products are frequently sourced from unregulated foreign manufacturers.

In June 2026, the FDA stated that sales of retatrutide and other unapproved versions of GLP-1 products to consumers are illegal and cannot lawfully be compounded.

The scale of illicit supply is substantial. US Customs and Border Protection intercepted over 690 shipments — totalling more than 31,000 units — of illicit GLP-1 drugs during fiscal year 2025. In July 2026 alone, those figures more than doubled, with over 1,400 seizures and nearly 90,000 vials intercepted.

Lilly has flagged more than 200 individuals and entities to the FDA, the US Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement agencies, and professional licensing boards. The company has also reported more than 14,000 websites, advertisements, social media posts, and product listings that unlawfully market retatrutide in more than 100 countries.

Procurement implications for UK research laboratories

Retatrutide reference standards and API fragments are legitimately available for in vitro analytical purposes through regulated chemical suppliers operating under UK research-chemical frameworks. However, any material claimed to be retatrutide for reconstitution or human administration should be treated with high scepticism: the compound is not approved anywhere, it is not lawfully compoundable in the US, and Lilly's enforcement programme has identified extensive adulteration and mislabelling in illicit supply chains.

Research teams requiring GLP-1 comparator materials for validated assay work should verify that suppliers provide an unambiguous Certificate of Analysis confirmed by orthogonal methods (HPLC purity and mass spectrometry identity as a minimum), full supply-chain provenance, and documentation consistent with research-use-only procurement policies. The approaching EASD 2026 presentations will add substantially to the public evidence base for retatrutide's efficacy profile, but regulatory approval — and with it, lawful pharmaceutical-grade supply — remains at minimum 12–18 months away.