TREASURE-CKD completes without reporting results

A phase 2 study called TREASURE-CKD, testing tirzepatide (the drug in Mounjaro and Zepbound) in people with overweight or obesity and chronic kidney disease, reached its listed completion date of July 30, 2026 ^[2]. As of September 14, 2026, no results had been posted on either the U.S. ClinicalTrials.gov registry or the European Union's CTIS database ^[1][2].

The trial, sponsored by Eli Lilly and also known by the protocol number I8F-MC-GPIG, planned to enroll around 140 participants and compared tirzepatide at a maximum tolerated dose of 10 or 15 milligrams weekly against placebo over 52 weeks ^[2]. Its primary goal was not to measure kidney failure, dialysis, or death. Instead, the main outcome was the percent change from baseline in renal sinus fat content, measured by MRI ^[2]. The ClinicalTrials.gov listing also describes measurement of kidney oxygenation, another imaging-based marker rather than a hard clinical event ^[1].

Participants had to have a body mass index of at least 27, a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease, and an estimated glomerular filtration rate between 25 and 60 (or up to 75 if urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio exceeded 30 mg/g), while already on a maximum appropriate dose of an ACE inhibitor or ARB ^[2]. People with type 2 diabetes needed at least 180 days since diagnosis and an A1c of 9.5% or lower; those without diabetes needed an A1c under 6.5% ^[2]. The trial excluded people with recent large weight changes, prior or planned obesity surgery, unstable kidney disease, or a history of pancreatitis, among other criteria ^[2].

Sites operated in Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands within the EU, alongside additional planned enrollment in the United States, Mexico, and Canada ^[2]. Country-level recruitment ended by July 8, 2025 across the three EU nations, with local trial-end notifications filed between March and July 2026 ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

This study does not tell patients whether tirzepatide prevents kidney failure or slows the loss of kidney function over years. It was designed as a mechanistic study, using MRI to look at fat around the kidneys and how well the kidneys are getting oxygen — markers researchers use to understand biology, not outcomes patients feel directly ^[1][2]. Even once results are released, they will speak to whether tirzepatide changes these imaging markers, not to whether the drug keeps people off dialysis or reduces death from kidney disease.

For the roughly 134 people who took part, and for doctors managing patients with both obesity and chronic kidney disease, the practical value of TREASURE-CKD depends entirely on data that has not yet appeared. Until results are published, there is no new evidence from this specific trial to inform decisions about using tirzepatide for kidney protection in this population. People with chronic kidney disease considering GLP-1 or dual GLP-1/GIP therapies should know that this trial's completion, by itself, does not confirm any kidney benefit or lack of benefit.

What happens next

The sources reviewed do not say when Lilly will submit or post results. Under U.S. reporting rules, sponsors generally have up to one year after a trial's primary completion date to post results on ClinicalTrials.gov, though extensions are possible ^[1]. Given the July 30, 2026 completion date, results could plausibly appear on ClinicalTrials.gov or CTIS within the following year, but neither database confirms a submission date, and it is not yet known when or whether findings will be published in a scientific journal.