Eli Lilly's oral GLP-1 pill may help people with Type 2 diabetes lose 'significant' weight, study finds
Drugmaker Eli Lilly says its daily oral GLP-1 pill may help people who have obesity and people with Type 2 diabetes lose approximately 23 pounds or more than 10% of their body weight on average, according to new data released Tuesday morning.
Eli Lilly said the oral GLP-1 pill has been shown to reduce hemoglobin A1C levels -- a blood test that shows average blood sugar levels over two to three months -- by an average of 1.3% to 1.8% in people with diabetes.
The Phase 3 trial study results were based on trial participants who took the highest dose of 36 milligrams for more than a year, or approximately 17 months.
Eli Lilly's latest data release follows the company's earlier findings, released in early August, that showed that trial participants who are overweight or have obesity lost an average of 27 pounds or about 12.4% of their body weight after taking Eli Lilly's oral daily GLP-1 pill -- orforglipron -- for at least 72 weeks.
Eli Lilly is expected to present this data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and request approval for orforglipron as a treatment for obesity by the end of 2025.
"If approved, we are ready to offer a convenient, once-daily pill that can be scaled globally -- removing barriers and redefining how obesity is treated around the world," Kenneth Custer, Eli Lilly's executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in a statement.
Novo Nordisk, a competitor to Eli Lilly, has already sought FDA approval for an oral semaglutide pill, its oral GLP-1 pill, and is expected to receive a decision by the end of this year.
Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are competing to bring an oral pill version of a GLP-1 drug to market, as a daily pill could be more accessible and may be more appealing for people who do not want to use weekly GLP-1 injectable medications.
"Orforglipron could help health care providers expand treatment options for patients who prefer oral therapies without compromising clinical results," Dr. Louis J. Aronne, an obesity specialist, said in a statement from Eli Lilly.
Oral GLP-1 medications may cause similar side effects as GLP-1 injectables, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Oral GLP-1 pills have not been studied alongside GLP-1 injectables so far, and researchers don't yet know which version may more more effective than the other.
Eli Lilly says full data from its latest Phase 3 trial will be published in a peer-reviewed journal at a future date.
