Prepared by: Research Desk. Sources are linked for verification.

Status: Investigational. Retatrutide is not approved by the FDA. The FDA lists it among unapproved GLP-1 drugs and states that such products have not been found safe and effective for any condition [1].

The TRIUMPH program is Eli Lilly's set of phase 3 trials of retatrutide in adults with obesity or overweight. Results from the program have not arrived all at once or in one format. Some come from a company press release. One has appeared as a peer-reviewed journal paper. Others have finished data collection without any posted results.

This page tracks where each trial stands and where its results appeared. It also shows whether those results have been through independent peer review. It does not restate weight-change percentages or other efficacy figures. For those, follow the linked primary sources and read them in context.

One point applies throughout. "Results reported" can mean very different things. A topline press release, a journal article and a registry results posting differ in how much detail they give and in who has checked them.

The TRIUMPH trials at a glance

"Peer-reviewed" refers to the results sources available to us as of this update. A "No" can change when a journal paper appears.

Three kinds of "results"

Phase 3 results usually reach the public in stages. Each stage carries a different level of detail and scrutiny.

1. Topline press release. The sponsor announces headline outcomes, usually the primary endpoints and a short safety summary. These are company-reported figures. No outside experts have checked them before release. A press release typically leaves out confidence intervals, the statistical estimand, how missing data were handled, and full adverse-event tables.

2. Peer-reviewed journal article. A full paper sets out methods, statistical analyses, secondary endpoints and complete safety data. Independent experts assess it before publication. It is the most complete public account of a trial. Even so, it reflects the analysis choices the authors made.

3. Registry results posting. ClinicalTrials.gov records can carry a results section. It includes participant flow, baseline characteristics, outcome measures and adverse-event tables in a standard format. This posting can come before or after a journal paper.

Our explainer on how to read retatrutide trial results covers primary endpoints, placebo comparison and weight-change reporting in more depth.

TRIUMPH-4: topline by press release

TRIUMPH-4 enrolled adults with overweight or obesity and knee osteoarthritis. It had two co-primary endpoints, change in body weight and change in WOMAC pain score, both measured at week 68 [2][3].

Lilly reported topline results in a press release dated 11 December 2025 [2]. These are company-reported data and have not been peer reviewed. The release said detailed results would be presented at a medical meeting and published in a journal [2]. Our verified sources do not show such a paper as of this update.

The release also listed frequently reported adverse events and discontinuation rates [2]. Our page on retatrutide side effects collects the adverse events named across the trial reports. It notes which come from peer-reviewed papers and which come from company releases.

TRIUMPH-2: the peer-reviewed paper

TRIUMPH-2 studied retatrutide in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes [5]. Its results appeared in The Lancet in 2026, in a paper by Bellido V and colleagues [6]. The paper describes the trial as double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled and phase 3 [6].

Of the TRIUMPH trials covered here, TRIUMPH-2 is the only one with a peer-reviewed journal publication in our verified sources. That makes it the only one where readers can check the full methods, statistical approach and safety tables. Readers who want the figures should go to the paper itself rather than to secondary summaries [6].

TRIUMPH-2 enrolled people with type 2 diabetes. Its results cannot be carried over directly to trials in people without diabetes. Diabetes status can affect weight change and the adverse-event profile, and it shapes which secondary endpoints are measured.

TRIUMPH-1: topline announced, figures not reproduced here

Lilly reported TRIUMPH-1 topline results in May 2026. This page does not reproduce figures from that announcement. Like the TRIUMPH-4 release, it is a company report and not a peer-reviewed publication.

The ClinicalTrials.gov record for TRIUMPH-1 lists the registered population, endpoints and current status [4]. That record is the place to watch for a results posting.

TRIUMPH-3 and TRIUMPH-5: no posted results seen

The TRIUMPH-3 registry record lists the trial as completed, with a primary completion date of 16 April 2026 [7]. As of this update, we have not seen posted results on the registry. We have also not seen a company topline announcement or a journal paper in our verified sources.

Primary completion means the last participant has been assessed for the primary outcome. Data cleaning, analysis and reporting usually take months after that date.

TRIUMPH-5 is registered as NCT06662383 [8]. Our verified sources do not include results for this trial. Its registry record shows the current recruitment and completion status [8]. For a general look at how retatrutide trial designs compare with those of another incretin-based drug, see retatrutide vs tirzepatide.

Where phase 2 fits

Before TRIUMPH, the main peer-reviewed obesity data for retatrutide came from a phase 2 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023 (Jastreboff AM et al.) [9]. That trial was smaller and shorter than the phase 3 studies. It was designed to inform the phase 3 program, not to stand in for it.

Phase 2 and phase 3 figures are often placed side by side in headlines. The populations, durations and analysis methods differ, so direct comparison has limits. A phase 3 result is not a confirmation of a phase 2 result unless the designs line up closely.

Reading obesity trial results across the program

Several cautions apply when comparing TRIUMPH trials with each other, or with other obesity trial results:

• Different populations. TRIUMPH-2 enrolled people with type 2 diabetes. TRIUMPH-4 enrolled people with knee osteoarthritis [2][6]. Figures from one population do not transfer directly to another.

• Different evidence levels. A peer-reviewed paper and a press release are not equivalent sources, even when they report similar headline numbers.

• Different endpoints. Some trials pair body weight with a condition-specific co-primary endpoint, as TRIUMPH-4 did with knee pain [2].

• Placebo arms matter. The useful figure is usually the difference between arms, not the change within one arm.

• Investigational status. None of these results changes the regulatory position. Retatrutide remains unapproved [1].

What to watch for next

• Journal papers for TRIUMPH-1 and TRIUMPH-4. These would allow the topline claims to be checked against full methods and safety data.

• Registry results postings. ClinicalTrials.gov results sections for TRIUMPH-3 and the other completed trials may appear [3][4][7].

• TRIUMPH-5 status changes. Watch for updates to its completion dates and recruitment status [8].

• Regulatory filings. No approval decision appears in the FDA source cited here. The FDA page continues to list retatrutide as unapproved [1].

To follow these changes yourself, our guide to tracking the TRIUMPH trials on ClinicalTrials.gov explains how to read record histories, status fields and results tabs. We update this page when new results appear in a verified source.

Related on this site

• Retatrutide, trial by trial

• How to track the TRIUMPH trials on ClinicalTrials.gov

• How to read a retatrutide trial: endpoints, placebo and weight change

• Retatrutide vs tirzepatide: how the trial designs and data compare

• Retatrutide side effects: what the trial reports list

Last updated: 21 October 2026.

Not medical advice. This page reports published research and regulatory records for information only.

Research-only notice: Content on this site is provided for research and educational purposes only and is not intended for human use. It is not medical advice.

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