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Select up to four compounds to place side by side. Comparison is descriptive: it shows what each evidence base contains, not which compound is better.

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Side-by-side comparison of selected compounds.
Attribute	Semaglutide GLP-1 receptor agonist (acylated 31-amino-acid analogue)	Tirzepatide Dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist	Retatrutide Triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist
Strongest claim on file	AStrong	AStrong	CPreliminary
Regulatory status	FDA-approved FDA-approved products exist for type 2 diabetes and for chronic weight management, with specific labelled populations. Compounded semaglutide has been the subject of FDA communications and is not the same as an approved product.	FDA-approved FDA-approved products exist for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, with defined labelled populations.	Investigational Investigational. Not approved for any indication. Material sold outside a clinical trial is not the trial product.
Human studies catalogued	2 of 2 total	2 of 2 total	2 of 2 total
Longest qualifying human study	176 weeks	176 weeks	48 weeks
Most commonly studied duration	68 weeks	72 weeks	48 weeks
Half-life	7.0 days Approximately 7 days, supporting once-weekly administration in the trials.	5.0 days Approximately 5 days, supporting once-weekly administration in the trials.	6.0 days Approximately 6 days as reported in early-phase work.
Routes studied	Subcutaneous Oral	Subcutaneous	Subcutaneous
Prohibited in sport	No	No	No
Graded claims	A Once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg was associated with substantially greater body-weight reduction than placebo over 68 weeks in adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes. B Whether weight reduction persists after discontinuation is a separate question from on-treatment efficacy.	A Once-weekly tirzepatide was associated with dose-dependent body-weight reduction over 72 weeks versus placebo in adults with obesity or overweight without diabetes. A In adults with obesity and prediabetes, tirzepatide was associated with reduced progression to type 2 diabetes over 176 weeks, with weight regain reported after withdrawal.	C In a single phase 2 trial, retatrutide was associated with dose-dependent weight reduction over 48 weeks.
What is not established	Durability after discontinuation, and outcomes beyond the trial duration in unselected populations, remain less well characterised than the on-treatment effect. Post-withdrawal regain has been reported in this drug class. Assuming persistence is not supported.	Comparative effectiveness against every alternative, and effects in populations excluded from the trials, are not fully established. The finding is specific to a prediabetes population.	No phase 3 outcome data. Long-term and cardiovascular safety are unestablished. A dose-dependent heart-rate increase was reported and is unresolved.
Safety signals reported	Gastrointestinal events are the most common in trials (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation) Boxed warning regarding thyroid C-cell tumours in rodents; contraindicated in medullary thyroid carcinoma and MEN 2 per labelling Pancreatitis reported; gallbladder events reported at increased frequency Weight regain reported following discontinuation	Gastrointestinal events predominate, concentrated during dose escalation Boxed warning regarding thyroid C-cell tumours in rodents per labelling Pancreatitis and gallbladder events reported Weight regain reported after treatment withdrawal in the long-term trial	Dose-dependent gastrointestinal events in the phase 2 trial Dose-dependent heart-rate increase reported, which peaked and then declined Long-term and cardiovascular safety are not established

What a comparison cannot tell you

Compounds studied for different endpoints, in different populations, by different routes, are not directly comparable even when the table places them in adjacent columns. A compound with more studies is not therefore better; it may simply have been commercially interesting for longer.