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For people with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA) who are overweight or have obesity, everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs and standing up from a chair can be difficult. In two Northwestern University–led Phase III clinical trials involving more than 1,000 participants combined, those taking the highest dose of retatrutide, a new experimental weight-loss injectable drug, lost about one-quarter of their body weight on average.

A pooled analysis of the studies found that about two-thirds of participants receiving retatrutide experienced at least a 50% reduction in knee pain, compared with 38% of those receiving placebo.

In addition to weight loss and pain relief, participants experienced other significant benefits, including reduced blood pressure, lower lipid levels and less systemic inflammation.

The findings from both trials have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study is titled "Retatrutide Once Weekly in Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis Pain and Obesity."

"The findings are really saying for people who are overweight and have OA, if you lose a significant amount of weight with this treatment, there is a good chance that you're going to get a meaningful reduction in your knee pain," said corresponding author Dr. Thomas Schnitzer, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesiology and medicine (rheumatology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"A major factor is that you're loading your knees less and therefore, there's less pain and it allows you to increase your function."

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