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.
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.
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.
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. 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 be more effective than the other.