08/05/2026
We are proud to recognize our Medical Director, Dr. Juan Pablo Frías, who served as a Keynote Speaker at yesterday’s launch of MOUNJARO® (tirzepatide) in Panama—the first country in Central America to introduce this important medicine.
Dr. Frías has been involved in the clinical development of tirzepatide since its Phase 2 program began in 2017. He served as first author of the Phase 2 studies published in The Lancet and Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in 2018 and subsequently participated in the Phase 3 SURPASS and SURMOUNT programs that supported the approval of tirzepatide for type 2 diabetes as MOUNJARO and for obesity as ZEPBOUND®.
He also served as lead author of the landmark SURPASS-2 trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which compared tirzepatide with semaglutide in people with type 2 diabetes.
In Latin America, Dr. Frías has contributed to MOUNJARO pre-launch and launch activities across Chile, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and now Panama.
With more than 25 years of clinical research experience—much of it focused on GLP-1–based therapies—Dr. Frías and the LA-IMR team remain committed to advancing treatments that improve the lives of people living with obesity, diabetes, and metabolic liver disease.
Congratulations, Panama, on this important milestone!
