Airlines, Groceries, and Amylin
Week Of January 17 – January 23, 2026
I wrote about the motivation behind the GLP-1 dashboard on LinkedIn this week.
No major company press releases this week, so instead a few items that caught my eye. A NYT piece cites a financial services analysis estimating the four largest U.S. carriers could save up to $580 million per year on fuel as passengers lose weight on GLP-1s. A study in the Journal of Marketing Research found that households with a GLP-1 user reduce grocery spending by 5.3% within six months, with an 8% decline at fast-food chains and coffee shops. Separately, Daniel Drucker published a review in Nature Medicine that’s worth reading if you want a comprehensive look at where the field stands scientifically.
For the Trial Spotlight, I picked Lilly’s eloralintide ENLIGHTEN-4 study — an amylin agonist targeting osteoarthritis knee pain in people with obesity, which represents the “metabolic pain therapy” concept functioning outside the GLP-1/GIP pathways. The Mechanism Explained covers retatrutide’s triple agonist approach and why Lilly is now running dose optimization studies.
🆕 NEWLY REGISTERED TRIALS (8 in last week)
IMPACT-MACS comparing adrenalectomy vs. semaglutide for metabolic outcomes in Mild Autonomous Cortisol Secretion (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, n=75)
[New Indications]
Trials: NCT07361874 (IMPACT-MACS) | Mechanism: GLP-1 receptor agonist
Feasibility study of tirzepatide-induced weight loss vs. standard care for treating obesity-related hypertension in young adults (Cambridge University Hospitals, n=60)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy]
Trials: NCT07364175 (SOLUTION-Pilot) | Mechanism: Dual GLP-1/GIP agonist
Retatrutide Phase 3 evaluating the drug in adults with obesity or overweight, but without type 2 diabetes (Eli Lilly, n=600)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy]
Trials: NCT07357415 (TRIUMPH-9) | Mechanism: Triple GLP-1/GIP/glucagon agonist
CagriSema Phase 2 comparing two different injectable formulations in people with type 2 diabetes (Novo Nordisk, n=400)
[New Indications]
Trials: NCT07357740 | Mechanism: GLP-1 / Amylin combination
CagriSema Phase III comparing different injectable versions against placebo in people with excess body weight (Novo Nordisk, n=1400)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy]
Trials: NCT07357766 | Mechanism: GLP-1 / Amylin combination
Eloralintide Phase 3 trial investigating treatment for osteoarthritis knee pain in participants with obesity or overweight (Eli Lilly, n=900)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy | Oral Formulations | Safety/Tolerability]
Trials: NCT07353931 (ENLIGHTEN-4) | Mechanism: Amylin receptor agonist
Tirzepatide Phase 4 study investigating cardiovascular and metabolic effects in obese adults with congenital heart disease (University Medical Centre Ljubljana, n=30)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy | New Indications]
Trials: NCT07354880 (TEACH) | Mechanism: Dual GLP-1/GIP agonist
Tirzepatide plus progestin IUD Phase II trial evaluating a weight-loss intervention to treat endometrial hyperplasia and early-stage endometrial cancer (NCI, n=55)
[Weight Loss/Efficacy | New Indications]
Trials: NCT07349641 | Mechanism: Dual GLP-1/GIP agonist
💡 TRIAL SPOTLIGHT
Educational spotlight selected by editors
Efficacy and Safety of Eloralintide (LY3841136) in Participants With Osteoarthritis Knee Pain and Obesity or Overweight (ENLIGHTEN-4)
Eloralintide (LY3841136) is an investigational, long-acting amylin receptor agonist designed to promote satiety and slow gastric emptying, offering a novel non-incretin (non-GLP-1) mechanism for weight management. This Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (part of the ENLIGHTEN-4 master protocol) will enroll approximately 900 participants to evaluate the drug’s efficacy in treating osteoarthritis (OA) knee pain in adults with obesity or overweight. Participants will undergo treatment for approximately 75 weeks, a duration sufficient to assess both substantial weight reduction and its secondary benefits on structural or symptomatic joint improvements. Strategically, this study aims to replicate the success seen with other weight-loss agents in reducing OA pain while validating a new class of “metabolic” pain therapies that function independently of the GLP-1/GIP pathways.
🔬 MECHANISM EXPLAINED
Understanding the science behind the therapeutics
Triple GLP-1/GIP/glucagon agonist (Example drug: Retatrutide (LY3437943))
Retatrutide functions as a triple agonist (”triple G”), simultaneously activating receptors for GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon, distinguishing it from dual agonists like tirzepatide (GLP-1/GIP) and mono-agonists like semaglutide. While the GLP-1 and GIP components drive satiety and improve insulin sensitivity, the addition of glucagon receptor agonism is the critical differentiator; it increases energy expenditure and enhances lipid metabolism, potentially stripping liver fat more aggressively than existing therapies. This mechanism matters because it aims to break the “efficacy ceiling” of current weight-loss drugs, targeting roughly 25% or greater body weight loss in clinical data to date. This week’s newly registered TRIUMPH-9 (NCT07357415) is a Phase 3b study launching in early 2026 to optimize dose escalation schemes, a strategic move by Eli Lilly to improve tolerability and speed of titration for this potent therapeutic profile.
This newsletter compiles publicly available information from company press releases and ClinicalTrials.gov. Not investment advice.
Get in touch: Reply to this email, leave a comment on the post, or find me on X @GLP1observer. Explore the GLP-1 dashboard at glp1.bio1up.com.