NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly

presented trial results to medical professionals on Saturday

showing its next-generation obesity drug retatrutide curbed

sleep apnea severity in addition to boosting weight loss and

helping knee pain.

* In a Phase 3 trial, Lilly found a weekly injection of

retatrutide reduced moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea

severity by 60.6% in adults with obesity. Lilly's older drug

Zepbound is approved for the condition.

* In the same trial, the drug reduced knee osteoarthritis

pain by up to 73.1%, Lilly found. The results were presented at

an American Diabetes Association conference in New Orleans.

* Lilly previously disclosed results of the two studies

presented on Saturday showing patients with obesity lost 28% of

body weight and adults with type 2 diabetes experienced

significant drops in blood sugar levels.

* In one of the studies, 2% of patients with diabetes who

took the lowest dose of the drug experienced major adverse

cardiovascular events. Such events were not necessarily caused

by the drug, according to detailed results published in the

Lancet on Saturday.

* Retatrutide is Lilly's experimental "triple G" drug, which

targets GLP-1, a second obesity-related hormone called GIP and

the body's receptors for a third hormone called glucagon.

* The Indiana-based company and rivals including Denmark's

Novo Nordisk are in a race to dominate the booming

market for obesity and diabetes drugs.