Eli Lilly’s once-daily weight loss pill succeeds in latest trial, paving the way for global approval

Eli Lilly said its once-daily weight loss pill was effective for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes in a key trial, clearing the way for the drugmaker to seek regulatory approval across the globe.

The medicine, called orforglipron, belongs to a class of lucrative weight loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which also include Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Lilly’s Mounjaro.

The drugs work by mimicking a hormone that makes people feel full for longer, and have exploded in popularity in recent years.

Most GLP-1 drugs must be injected, prompting pharmaceutical companies to hunt for more convenient alternatives.

Lilly’s pill could be the first to reach the market. It plans to ask regulators to approve the drug by the end of 2025 and said it is ready to roll out the pill shortly after.

“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, Lilly’s executive vice president, said in a statement.

In the latest study, Lilly said patients taking the highest dose of orforglipron lost 10.5 per cent of their weight after 72 weeks, compared to 2.2 per cent among those taking a placebo or a dummy treatment.

The pill also helped patients lower their haemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood sugar levels. Among people taking the highest dose of orforglipron, 75 per cent reached A1C levels that put them at or below the official criteria for diabetes.

The side effects were mainly mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea and vomiting.

Lilly reported the findings in a press release and said the full trial results will later be published in a medical journal.

The announcement comes just weeks after Lilly reported the results of another trial that tested the weight loss pill for patients with obesity and other health issues apart from diabetes. In that study, patients taking 36mg of orforglipron per day lost 12.4 per cent of their body weight.

Anti-obesity jabs have been shown to help people shed more weight. But proponents of the drugs say a daily pill could be a game-changer because it could make treatment simpler and more widely available.