A trial assessing a new daily pill for weight loss has shown that people taking the drug can shed kilos in weeks, potentially offering people with obesity a new and convenient alternative to jabs.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly said it expects substantial demand when the new pill is launched.
Lilly said it will seek approval by international regulators as it published the results of a large study into orforglipron.
The new pill is a GLP-1 agonist, a type of medication which helps lower blood sugar levels, slows the digestion of food and can reduce appetite.
The manufacturer also makes Mounjaro, dubbed the King Kong of weight loss jabs.
Weight loss jabs have been hailed as transformative by health leaders.
But injections come with additional work for over-stretched health services so tablet forms of medication, which are expected to be cheaper and easier to use, may offer a new hope for the millions of people looking to lose weight.
The new study data on orforglipron showed that people taking the drug lost an average of 12.3 kilograms while taking the drug for 72 weeks compared with those not taking the drug.
Three in five (60%) of people taking the highest dose of orforglipron lost at least 10% of their body weight, while 40% lost at least 15% of their body weight, according to the study, which is to be presented to the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting 2025.
In addition to weight loss the people in the study also showed other health benefits, including improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and heart disease risk.
Experts highlighted how the tablet did not appear to yield the same benefits as some weight loss jabs, but said they will be more “tolerable” for many patients.
Lilly said the safety profile of the tablet is similar to other GLP-1 drugs, with gastrointestinal issues the most commonly reported side effect.
The pill was assessed in a study of 3,127 adults who were obese or overweight, with a weight-related medical problem and without diabetes.
“With orforglipron, we’re working to transform obesity care by introducing a potential once-daily oral therapy that could support early intervention and long-term disease management, while offering a convenient alternative to injectable treatments,” said Lilly’s Kenneth Custer.
“With these positive data in hand, we are now planning to submit orforglipron for regulatory review by year-end and are prepared for a global launch to address this urgent public health need.”
Dr Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “These early results on the effectiveness of orforglipron in promoting clinically significant weight loss are a positive step forward in the development of this class of drugs.
“It should be noted that their effects on weight loss are not as profound as that seen in injectable GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Wegovy, with a lower percentage weight loss and fewer people achieving 10% weight loss at the highest dose.
“Nevertheless, that this medication is an oral form, rather than injectable, will likely be seen as more tolerable for many patients.
“The manufacturing costs are also anticipated to be significantly lower than injectable drugs, meaning these medications may be more equitable in their availability.
“It should be noted that these are preliminary, non-peer reviewed results and we will need to see the full trial methodology and data before a more comprehensive analysis can be undertaken.”
It comes as a separate study highlighted the potential other benefits of using GLP-1s, also known as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor-agonists.
They were initially developed as a treatment for people with type 2 diabetes and are now widely used to treat obesity and help people lose weight.
The separate paper, from McGill University and the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at the Jewish General Hospital in Canada, examined the benefits of these drugs beyond weight loss by looking at trials which had assessed the drugs in other areas of medicine.
Writing in the journal eClinicalMedicine, experts said GLP-1s may also play a role in improving liver disease; sleep apnoea; arthritis of the knee; polycystic ovary syndrome; Parkinson’s disease; Alzheimer’s disease and substance misuse.
But they also highlighted potential safety issues linked to the drugs including potential issues with the pancreas and gall bladder.
“The therapeutic landscape for obesity and related metabolic conditions has evolved substantially with the emergence of GLP-1 RAs,” they wrote.
“These agents now play a central role not only in weight management and diabetes care but are also being investigated in a growing number of conditions, including cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, neurologic, and substance use disorders.
“As their indications expand, so must our understanding of long-term efficacy, safety, and patient-centred treatment strategies.”
