WASHINGTON (TNND) — Medicine company Eli Lilly said on Tuesday that its daily weight loss pill helped patients lose weight, specifically those with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, during a late-stage, Phase 3 trial.
Based on my experience leading clinical trials in obesity and diabetes, these data show the potential for orforglipron to offer an efficacy, safety, and tolerability profile consistent with the injectable GLP-1 class,” said Louis J. Aronne, MD, FACP, DABOM, founder and Chair Emeritus of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, former president of The Obesity Society, Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and world-renowned obesity specialist in a written statement. “Orforglipron could help health care providers expand treatment options for patients who prefer oral therapies without compromising clinical results.
As a result, the company filed for final approval of the drug worldwide. Weight loss injectables, or GLP-1 drugs, have surged in popularity, but this pill offers an alternative to needles. The pill is formally called orforglipron.
Orforglipron helped patients lose 10.5 percent of their weight or 22.9 pounds over 72 weeks. On top of weight loss, the drug also helped with blood sugar levels. Patients then no longer met the criteria for Type 2 diabetes.
Weight loss injections can also get pricey. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, a leading GLP-1 drug used for weight management, is priced at approximately $1,349 per month in the U.S.
In an interview with CNBC, Eli Lilly’s chief scientific officer, Daniel Skovronsky she hopes the pills will be priced lower than injectables.