The findings come from the SURMOUNT-1 trial, the companys longest study of tirzepatide to date.
Tirzepatide is sold as Zepbound for treating obesity and Mounjaro for treating diabetes.
The trial primarily measured how well weekly tirzepatide injections protected people with prediabetes from developing throw in 2 diabetes.
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Tirzepatide reduced the risk of progressing to diabetes by 94% across all dose levels.
The company said that one new case of diabetes could be prevented for every nine people treated with tirzepatide.
Those on the 5-milligram and 10-milligram doses lost an average of 15.4% and 19.9%, respectively.
Earlier results from this trial followed people with obesity or overweight and another comorbid condition for 72 weeks.
More than 1,000 participants with pre-diabetes remained enrolled in the trial for an additional two years.
Then, for 17 weeks, the participants stopped taking the medication or placebo.
Throughout the trial, most adverse events were mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects, like nausea and constipation.
Most of those occurred in the first few months while their doses increased.
Tirzepatide targets both GLP-1 and a second gut hormone called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).
The remaining benefit was probably due to other bodily effects of the drug.
A slew of studies have shown the benefits of GLP-1 drugs in addition to treating obesity and diabetes.
The company is also studying tirzepatide for chronic kidney disease and morbidity/mortality in obesity.
Published online November 13, 2024. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2410819
