The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the use of Eli Lilly medicine Zepbound, already prescribed for weight loss, as a treatment for sleep apnea in obese patients.
The active chemical in Zepbound, tirzepatide, is also prescribed for treating type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro. The FDA says that Zepbound can help treat moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when a person’s airway becomes blocked, which interrupts breathing while they are asleep.
Zepbound is the first drug prescribed for obstructive sleep apnea patients, the FDA said. Since the condition occurs more often in overweight people, Zepbound helps treat the condition by helping to reduce appetite and the amount a patient eats, thereby helping to treat sleep apnea.
In a study of 469 adults comparing Zepbound users to patients who took a placebo, the Zepbound patients showed “a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in events of apnea,” compared to the other group, the FDA said.
“Zepbound is the first medication that significantly improves moderate-to-severe OSA … Nearly half of clinical trial patients saw such improvements that they no longer had symptoms associated with OSA,” Eli Lilly Executive Vice President Patrik Jonsson said in a release from the company.
In groups both using and not using positive airway pressure therapy while on Zepbound, participants experienced about five times fewer disruptions to their breathing while sleeping, Eli Lilly said.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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