Diet pills now on sale in UAE to treat type 2 diabetes

UAE doctors hope a new diet pill now available in the country will help improve the lives of those suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Monzaro, also known as tisiparatideis an injectable prescription drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to improve blood sugar or glucose through weight loss.

Developed by US drugmaker Eli Lilly and approved in May 2022, Tirzepatide was found to reduce body weight by up to 22.5% by reducing appetite after mimicking the effects of hormones released in the body after a person eats a meal.

Globally, type 2 is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for approximately 90% of all diabetes cases. In the UAE, it is one of the most common diseases.

Doctors use this drug as a second-line treatment and recommend a healthy diet and lifestyle management The first is people who are significantly overweight.

The injection has been available at King’s College Hospital in Dubai since early August. Other hospitals, such as the Premier Hospital, now have them as well.

Treatment costs AED 400 per week or AED 1,700 per month.

Doctors usually prescribe weekly injections, but the dose depends on the patient’s condition.

Dr Emran Ghaffar Khan, director of the Institute of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity at King’s College London in Dubai Hills, said the drug was thought to be more effective than other previously available drugs.

He has 13 patients on treatment so far and will be checking them regularly to see how well the drug is working.

“In my opinion, compared to others, this is groundbreaking,” he told National.

“We start with lifestyle, psychological and nutritional support.

“But when they can’t meet the requirements, help is now available in the form of medication.

“We started with 2.5 mg and then slowly increased each month to 15 mg.

“Every time I go up, I lose weight in the process.”

How does it work?

Semaglutide and Liriglutide are some common medications used to treat diabetes.

These all act on the body’s GLP-1 receptors – receptor proteins in cells that help control blood sugar levels by enhancing insulin secretion.

However, Tirzepitide acts on both GLP-1 and another receptor called glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), a hormone released from the small intestine that enhances insulin release after food intake.

This helps mimic the action of hormones released in the body after a person eats and reduces appetite.

“For some patients, weight loss may be about 22.5 percent of body weight, and a patient weighing 100 kilograms may lose 25 kilograms,” said Dr. Khan.

Can non-diabetic overweight people also use it?

Dr Anil Kumar Puru Naranyanaswamy, Consultant and Chair of Medicine, Endocrinology Unit at Prime Minister’s Hospital, said the drug is only for people with type 2 diabetes, not those who are not diabetic and overweight.

“Obviously the first row is the lifestyle, and then from the second row to the last row is also available. So, it’s varied,” he said.

“And because it lost weight significantly, other metabolic syndromes such as blood pressure and lipids also improved.”

Research is continuing in the U.S. to understand how overweight non-diabetic patients respond to the drug — and whether it could be used by those who just want to use the drug to lose weight.

Are there clinical trials?

In May, the results of a clinical trial involving 2,359 patients were released.

Some people received drug regimens of 5mg, 10mg or 15mg.

For the lowest dose, the mean weight loss was 15% of body weight; in the 10mg group, it was 19.5%; and in the 15mg group, it was 20.9%. Among those who took the placebo, an average of 3.1 percent of their body weight was lost.

The drug is the first to show an average weight loss of more than 20 percent in late-stage trials, said Dr. Jeff Emmick, Lilly’s vice president of product development.

Almost two-thirds of those taking the highest dose lost at least 20 percent of their body weight.

Dr Khan shares a case study of an Emirati patient he is treating.

The 56-year-old has long-term type 2 diabetes that remains uncontrolled after multiple oral medications and insulin injections.

“He also has a weight problem that he has struggled with for years,” he said.

“Despite his best efforts to exercise, he has not been able to [weight loss].

“We had a long discussion and decided to start him on this new drug.

“However, the initial feedback has been good, and I’ll check in with him regularly to adjust his medication to make sure his diabetes control is improving and he’s losing weight.”

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Updated: August 31, 2022 5:26 AM