Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman recently stated that retatrutide, an experimental weight management treatment, could become a “trillion-dollar dr*g” that can transform the pharma industry.
Speaking on a recent podcast, Huberman outlined a familiar pattern he’s observed throughout his career. “Bodybuilders always get there first,” he explained. “Then what happens is in Florida and the United States, doctors who work out, they go out in gyms with people who know how to gain muscle and lose fat quickly, start experimenting. Then it goes into their high-level clients. Then it shows up in Hollywood.”
According to Huberman, this trajectory has played out repeatedly since the 1980s with various performance stuff, from growth hormone to testosterone replacement therapy to GLP-1 treatments. Now, retatrutide appears to be following the same path.
“Everyone lies or avoids answering the question of how they got so jacked,” Huberman noted about Hollywood’s tendency toward secrecy. “They talk about eating chicken breasts, and they’re actually taking growth hormone and Cipionate and Winstrol and Retatrutide.”
The treatment, which Eli Lilly holds a patent for, is sometimes called GLP-3. Unlike earlier weight management treatments, it functions as a triple agonist, targeting GLP-1, glucagon, and GIP receptors simultaneously.
In Phase III clinical trials, the results proved remarkable: participants experienced up to one-third body weight loss within approximately six months, with evidence suggesting some degree of muscle preservation.
These findings have generated massive interest. “Not a week goes by where I don’t get 100 questions about Retatrutide to my phone, my personal phone, let alone email,” Huberman revealed.
Despite the widespread curiosity, Huberman made clear he hasn’t personally experimented with it. “I’ve never tried it,” he stated, though he acknowledged hearing consistent feedback from those who have.
In a February 9 post on X, he further clarified: “I’ve not tried GLP1 agonists. If I ever do I will say as I’ve always shared what I take and try and halt taking and amounts since 2021 when we launched HLP.”
The neuroscientist also described what he called “that retrutatide look” now visible among celebrities, suggesting the adoption has already begun spreading beyond research settings.
When asked directly whether his comments constituted an endorsement, Huberman responded: “I don’t know I don’t think I’m going to take it. But I’m not trying to lose fat.”
Dr. Aboud Bakri, MD, who discussed the treatment on the Santa Cruz Medicinals podcast, provided additional context about how it differs from predecessors. “Retatrutide is very very effective at fat loss. Much more effective than semaglutide or tirzepatide and way less side effects,” he stated.
The effects extend beyond simple appetite suppression. “People are noticing that they’re even taking it while they’re bulking,” Dr. Bakri explained. “Retatrutide because they’re able to partition more nutrients into the muscle instead of into the fat.”
Dr. Mike Israetel, a bodybuilding coach and physiologist, has become particularly outspoken about the treatment’s potential. “Tirzepatide is already a god molecule. Like, it’s amazing. I have nothing about it I don’t like. Retatrutide is like magic magic juice,” he said during an appearance on the Trensparent podcast.
Israetel detailed an extensive list of purported benefits: “It does like 10 other things for your health and longevity. It sensitizes you to muscle growth more. It controls your appetite like a turn dial. It reduces whole body systemic inflammation. It reduces neural inflammation. It pulls out your intra-abdominal fat. Retatrutide specifically zaps liver fat like nothing they’ve ever tested. It’s a health elixir, period.”
This grey market availability has created tension between those seeking early access and Eli Lilly’s commercial interests. “We are looking at a potential change in the laws around peptides, such that buying peptides would become illegal,” Huberman warned. “I actually think this is a terrible idea, but the motivation behind this is largely because Lilly owns the patent.”
He elaborated: “Lilly would like to protect the domain over that patent. This is going to be a trillion-dollar d**g. Trillion-dollar.”
Yet people aren’t waiting for official approval. “People are already using Retatrutide. They can buy it out there. They’re taking it at maybe a third of the dose that’s recommended in the trial, and they are seeing phenomenal results at fat loss,” Huberman observed.
