Real-world evidence presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting 2026 and written up by GlobalData on October 14 found that adults with type 2 diabetes starting tirzepatide hit blood sugar and weight-loss targets more often than those starting semaglutide. The comparison covered both formulations of the rival drug.

Tirzepatide is sold by Eli Lilly as Mounjaro and works as a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist. Semaglutide, from Novo Nordisk, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as the injectable Ozempic and the pill Rybelsus. GlobalData says the double mechanism may give tirzepatide an edge when both glucose control and weight are being targeted at once, and the analysis does not claim to prove that.

Two targets, twelve months

Researchers tracked two outcomes over a year. An HbA1c below 6.5%, the blood test reflecting average blood sugar over recent months, was reached by 46.3% of tirzepatide patients, against 20.6% on injectable semaglutide and 23.8% on the oral version.

The second target was weight loss of at least 15%, reached by 24.1% on tirzepatide, 9.1% on injectable semaglutide and 8.4% on the pill. That is roughly one in four against one in eleven, which is a wider gap than most head-to-head incretin coverage has prepared readers for.

What matched records can show

The study was retrospective, built from primary-care records in England comparing adults newly started on each of the three options. The authors used propensity-score matching, pairing patients who looked similar on key characteristics.

That narrows the gap between groups without closing it, because clinicians choose treatments for reasons that never make it into a database. It is the standard caveat on real-world evidence, and it applies here in full.

The numbers that are missing

GlobalData's write-up gives no patient counts, names no researchers, and says nothing about how many people stayed on their drug for the full twelve months. Cost, side effects and access go unmentioned.

For a result being framed as a competitive differentiator in the incretin market, those are substantial gaps. A retention figure in particular would change how the percentages read.

Bottom line

Pharma analyst Maria Alexandrovich said the data demonstrate tirzepatide's greater real-world effectiveness across two important treatment goals, and that further real-world evidence will be important to determine whether the comparative benefits hold over longer treatment. One year of follow-up is a glimpse. The questions that matter sit at years three, five and ten.