Prime Highlights
- Eli Lilly’s oral pill orforglipron showed stronger results than existing oral options, helping patients lose 6–8% of their body weight in clinical trials.
- Nearly 60% of patients taking orforglipron lost at least 5% of their body weight, improving blood sugar control for people with type 2 diabetes.
Key Facts
- Participants were given 12 mg or 36 mg of orforglipron or an equivalent dose of semaglutide; those on semaglutide lost 4–5% of their body weight on average.
- Weight loss of 5–10% can help manage blood sugar and reduce the risk of complications for people with type 2 diabetes.
Background:
Eli Lilly’s new daily weight-loss pill helped participants lose up to 8% of their body weight in one year, performing better than other oral options. The drug, called orforglipron, outperformed oral semaglutide in a large clinical study published in The Lancet.
The trial involved more than 1,600 adults with type 2 diabetes across 130 centres in five countries. Participants were given either 12 mg or 36 mg of orforglipron, or a similar dose of semaglutide. After one year, those on orforglipron lost 6% to 8% of their weight, while semaglutide users lost 4% to 5%.
Nearly 60% of orforglipron users lost at least 5% of their weight, compared to 40% of semaglutide users. Between 28% and 44% of participants taking orforglipron lost 10% or more of their weight, compared with 13% to 21% in the semaglutide group. Researchers also found that orforglipron reduced blood sugar levels more effectively.
Losing 5% to 10% of body weight can help people with type 2 diabetes control blood sugar and reduce the risk of health problems.
Unlike injectable GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, orforglipron comes as a daily pill and does not require food or water restrictions. The company hopes the convenience will expand access to treatment. Currently, Novo Nordisk holds approval for the only oral GLP-1 pill on the market.
However, the new drug showed higher side effects. Around 9% to 10% of participants stopped treatment due to gastrointestinal problems, compared with about 5% in the semaglutide group.
Orforglipron is under review by the US Food and Drug Administration. If approved, Eli Lilly said the starting price in the United States would be $149 per month for the lowest dose, rising to $399 without insurance coverage. Longer-term safety and cardiovascular outcomes remain under study.
