More than 2 in 5 adults in the US are grappling with obesity, which is nearly 42% of the adult population. As HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. has vowed to Make America Healthy Again, the weight-loss drugs are expected to join the mission along with lifestyle changes. Eli Lilly’s (LLY.N) new experimental pill has seen success in its Phase 3 clinical trial. The new pill, orforglipron could transform the booming market for GLP-1 drugs. The company has confirmed that it has worked as well as the blockbuster drug Ozempic to lower weight and blood sugar in a trial of diabetes patients. Lilly, which already markets the diabetes drug Mounjaro and the weight-loss treatment Zepbound, said orforglipron matches the safety and tolerability of injectable GLP-1 drugs.
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“We are pleased to see that our latest incretin medicine meets our expectations for safety and tolerability, glucose control, and weight loss, and we look forward to additional data readouts later this year,” David A. Ricks, Lilly’s chair and CEO, said. “As a convenient once-daily pill, orforglipron may provide a new option and, if approved, could be readily manufactured and launched at scale for use by people around the world.”
What’s special about orfoglipron?
Lilly’s experimental pill, orforglipron, is the first oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist to complete a Phase 3 trial. You can pop in a pill daily, as advised by your doctor, and go ahead with your life. No more injections! Wait, that’s not the best part. The biggest catch is that the one-daily oral pill ‘can be taken any time of the day without restrictions on food and water intake’, as per the company. Along with the unrestrictive diet, this could cut short your frequent trips for the drug, like other GLP-1 drugs. In short, orfoglipron could become a hassle-free and effective alternative to other weight-loss drugs such as and Mounjaro.