New GLP-1 pill helps patients lose up to 8% of body weight, trial shows | Weight-loss drugs

A new daily pill may be a more effective GLP-1 tablet for weight loss, according to a clinical trial that could pave the way for an improved non-injection alternative to Wegovy and Mounjaro.

The drug, called orforglipron and made by Eli Lilly, is prescribed for type 2 diabetes and targets the same GLP-1 receptors as oral semaglutide. Like semaglutide, it lowers blood sugar levels, slows digestion and suppresses appetite. Unlike semaglutide tablets, it does not need to be taken on an empty stomach.

Orforglipron has not yet been approved by regulators in the UK, US or Europe, although the US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing it. Currently, semaglutide is the only GLP-1 medication for type 2 diabetes available in pill form in the United States.

The tablet form of semaglutide is available in the United States under the name Rybelsus to treat diabetes, and Wegovy’s diet pill version has also just been approved. However, oral semaglutide has been shown to be less effective for weight loss than semaglutide injections – such as Ozempic and Wegovy – or tirzepatide injections like Mounjaro.

Experts say tablet versions could prove revolutionary because they are easier to carry and store, and could ultimately be cheaper.

Results from the first phase 3 trial comparing orforglipron to oral semaglutide found that diabetic patients lost an average of 6 to 8 percent of their body weight with orforglipron, compared to 4 to 5 percent on semaglutide.

The Achieve-3 trial, funded by Eli Lilly, studied more than 1,500 adults with type 2 diabetes from 131 medical research centers and hospitals in Argentina, China, Japan, Mexico and the United States. Participants received either 12 mg or 36 mg of orforglipron, or 7 mg or 14 mg of oral semaglutide, over the course of a year.

In addition to greater weight loss, participants who took either dose of orforglipron had lower average blood sugar levels at the end of the trial than either dose of semaglutide.

However, dropout rates were higher in the orforglipron groups. About 9 to 10 percent of participants stopped treatment because of side effects – mainly gastrointestinal problems – compared to 4 to 5 percent in the semaglutide groups.

Responding to the findings, Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “Orforglipron [could prove] as treatment of choice for very obese diabetics. Its real advantage lies in its ease of use. When it is eventually released, its availability will need to be more strictly controlled than semaglutide to avoid similar potentially deadly use.

Dr Marie Spreckley, from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, said: “Higher discontinuation due to adverse events, particularly gastrointestinal symptoms, is a key consideration and may have implications for tolerability and compliance in real-world settings. »

She added that because the trial lasted only one year, long-term safety, cardiovascular outcomes and lasting effectiveness remained important unanswered questions.

Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: “These are important results. The more effective oral medications we have to help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight and keep it off, the better.”

He added that holistic approaches – targeting weight, blood sugar and cardiovascular risk simultaneously – are likely to provide the greatest benefit to people with type 2 diabetes. Incretin-based therapies combined with substantial intentional weight loss “may well become first-line treatments for type 2 diabetes over the next decade, potentially helping many people achieve remission for several years,” he said.