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What is the retatrutide injection, and is it available in India?

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 5 Oct 202614 sourcesWritten from published sources
The short answer

Retatrutide is not approved or legally sold in India, or anywhere else, as of October 2026. It is an experimental weekly injection from Eli Lilly that acts on the receptors for three hormones, GIP, GLP‑1 and glucagon. Lilly says only people in its clinical trials can legally get it, and plans to apply for US approval in early 2027.

Before you go further
  • Retatrutide is not an approved medicine anywhere. Lilly, its maker, says only people in its clinical trials can legally get it.1
  • The GLP‑1 medicines that are approved in India are prescription-only and can't be bought over the counter.12
  • The risks of this family of medicines are in Guide 5: Side effects and risks.
  • Nothing here promises any result.

How does retatrutide work?

Retatrutide is one molecule that switches on the body's receptors for three hormones, GIP, GLP‑1 and glucagon, so Lilly calls it a triple agonist.1

In trials, it is injected under the skin once a week, at doses of 4, 9 or 12 mg.1,2 Some news reports call it "GLP‑3", but Lilly says that label is scientifically inaccurate.1 Guide 2 explains how GLP‑1 medicines work.

Lilly is testing it for obesity, type 2 diabetes, knee arthritis pain, sleep apnoea, back pain, heart and kidney health, and fatty liver.1,2

What did the TRIUMPH phase 3 trials find?

On the top 12 mg dose, adults without diabetes lost 28.3% of their weight on average over 80 weeks, against 2.2% on a dummy injection.2

That trial, TRIUMPH‑1, had 2,339 adults with obesity or overweight and a weight-related condition. The lower doses gave 19.0% (4 mg) and 25.9% (9 mg).2 Counting everyone who started, including those who stopped, 12 mg gave 25.0% against 3.9%.2

For a 90 kg person, 25.0% (counting everyone who started) is about 22 kg. That is a trial average, so one person's result can differ. The full results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on 29 September 2026.3

In TRIUMPH‑2, 1,152 adults with type 2 diabetes lost 20.8% on 12 mg, against 4.0% on a dummy.4 Their HbA1c (average blood sugar over about 3 months) fell 1.4 to 1.6 points, from 7.7%.4 On 12 mg, 7.7% stopped because of side effects, against 4.9% on a dummy.5

RisksThe risks, in brief
  • Stomach effects are common. On 12 mg, 42.4% felt sick (nausea) vs 14.8% on a dummy. Diarrhoea hit 32.0% vs 13.5%, constipation 26.1% vs 10.9%, and vomiting 25.3% vs 4.8%.2
  • Odd skin feelings (dysesthesia) in 12.5% on 12 mg vs 0.9% on a dummy.2
  • Stopping. 11.3% on 12 mg stopped because of side effects, vs 4.9% on a dummy.2
  • Heart rate rose with the dose in the earlier phase 2 trial, peaking at 24 weeks and then easing.6
  • No label yet. Without an approval, there is no official list of warnings.1
Full detail in Guide 5: Side effects and risks →

Is retatrutide approved or sold in India?

No. We found no Indian approval, and Lilly's September 2026 update says no regulator anywhere has approved retatrutide.1

Indian hospitals have taken part in its trials. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 14 Indian sites in TRIUMPH‑1, including Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Vellore.7 A heart and kidney trial of about 10,000 people has 19 Indian sites. Lilly expects to finish collecting its main data in February 2029.8 A Lilly fatty-liver trial that includes retatrutide lists 20 Indian sites, and was recruiting on 5 October 2026.14

Lilly plans to apply for US approval in early 2027.5 We found no India launch date or price from Lilly, which says pricing follows regulatory review.1

India's 2019 drug rules bar anyone from importing or making a new drug for sale outside those rules.9

Is "research peptide" retatrutide sold online safe?

Lilly says anything sold to the public as retatrutide outside its trials is illegal, with no way to check its safety, purity or dose.1

When we searched "retatrutide india" on 5 October 2026, Indian websites selling "research" retatrutide vials showed up near the top.13 We don't link to them.

The US regulator, the FDA, has warned sellers of retatrutide labelled "for research purposes" or "not for human consumption".10 It says these were sold to people with dosing instructions. Such products may hold wrong or harmful ingredients, or too much, too little or none of the drug.10

In August 2026, Lilly sued six US companies it accuses of selling black-market retatrutide.11 In April 2026, India's government said the drug regulator (CDSCO) had stepped up checks on unauthorised GLP‑1 sales, including online.12 Guide 6 covers fakes and how to check a pack.

Get help now: call 112 if you feel seriously unwell after injecting anything sold as retatrutide, such as severe stomach pain or vomiting that won't stop. Unregulated injections can contain the wrong or harmful ingredients.10

Read the full picture

Related questions

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Sources

  1. Eli Lilly. What to know about retatrutide (FAQ), last updated September 2026. lilly.com
  2. Eli Lilly. Lilly's triple agonist, retatrutide, delivered powerful weight loss in pivotal Phase 3 obesity trial (TRIUMPH‑1 topline). Press release, 21 May 2026. prnewswire.com
  3. Jastreboff AM, Kaplan LM, Davies MJ, Wilding JPH et al. Retatrutide, a triple hormone receptor agonist, for treatment of obesity (TRIUMPH‑1). NEJM, published 29 Sep 2026. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2604169
  4. Eli Lilly. Lilly's triple agonist, retatrutide, successful in two additional Phase 3 obesity trials (TRIUMPH‑2 and TRIUMPH‑3 topline). Press release, 23 Jul 2026. prnewswire.com
  5. Eli Lilly. Lilly's triple agonist, retatrutide, delivered substantial weight loss and A1C reduction (TRIUMPH‑2 full results, EASD 2026 and The Lancet). Press release, 29 Sep 2026. prnewswire.com
  6. Jastreboff AM et al. Triple-hormone-receptor agonist retatrutide for obesity: a phase 2 trial. NEJM 2023;389:514-26. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2301972 · PMID 37366315
  7. ClinicalTrials.gov. A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) in Participants Who Have Obesity or Overweight (TRIUMPH‑1), NCT05929066. Completed; site list checked 5 Oct 2026. clinicaltrials.gov
  8. ClinicalTrials.gov. The Effect of Retatrutide Once Weekly on Cardiovascular Outcomes and Kidney Outcomes in Adults Living With Obesity (TRIUMPH‑Outcomes), NCT06383390. Active, not recruiting; primary completion estimated Feb 2029. clinicaltrials.gov
  9. CDSCO. New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019. Rule 74, page 64. cdsco.gov.in (PDF) · archived copy
  10. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA's concerns with unapproved GLP‑1 drugs used for weight loss (content current as of 1 Oct 2026). US regulator, not India's. fda.gov
  11. CNBC (Reuters). Lilly sues six companies over alleged illegal sales of experimental obesity drug retatrutide, 12 Aug 2026. cnbc.com
  12. Outlook India (PTI). Inspections, surveillance to continue against unauthorised sale, promotion of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs: govt, 1 Apr 2026. outlookindia.com
  13. GLP Guidebook. Our own web search for "retatrutide india", 5 Oct 2026. Seller sites deliberately not linked.
  14. ClinicalTrials.gov. A Master Protocol of Multiple Agents in Adults With Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (SYNERGY-Outcomes), NCT07165028. Eli Lilly; tirzepatide and retatrutide arms; recruiting, 20 India sites listed; checked 5 Oct 2026. clinicaltrials.gov

Last checked 5 Oct 2026 · Next review due 5 Apr 2027 · Report an error

How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to a qualified doctor before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write