A new pill could help patients lose more weight than current oral weight loss medications, a promising new study has found.
The drug, called orforglipron, is a GLP-1 agonist and targets the same appetite receptors as fat jabs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic, but is taken in tablet form rather than administered via injection.
And, unlike the new Wegovy pill – which launched in the US in January and NHS chiefs hope to roll out in the UK by the end of this year – you don’t need to take orforglipron on an empty stomach, making it much more convenient.
Orforglipron has been developed to treat type 2 diabetes and as part of a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was compared to an existing medication, Rybelsus.
Rybelsus and the Wegovy Pill are both manufactured by Novo Nordisk and are technically the same medication (oral semaglutide), but the former is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and the latter for weight loss.
Unlike the current batch of weight loss medications which are administered via injection, Rybelsus comes in tablet form and works by increasing insulin production to regulate blood sugar levels.
It is a prescription-only drug, available through GP and licensed pharmacies and is recommended to adults with type 2 diabetes who have had little success with other medications.
But in a trial of over 1,500 patients from Argentina, China, Japan Mexico and the US, patients who took orforglipron for a year experienced a greater drop in blood sugar levels and lost more weight than those on semaglutide.
The weight loss seen among people taking the daily pill is not as extreme as that among patients taking Mounjaro, which contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, but experts believe the tablet will be more accessible than injections.
The new drug was tested against the diabetes treatment version of the Wegovy pill
Writing in medical journal The Lancet, the authors said: ‘Our results suggest that orforglipron represents an important advancement in the oral treatment landscape for type2 diabetes.
‘It’s efficacy, safety, tolerability, and simple doing could address important barriers associated with current therapies, offering a new highly efficacious and safe option for individuals seeking glycemic and weight control with the use of injections.’
In the study, 1,698 participants were randomly assigned to receive either orforglipron, at a dose of 12mg or 36mg, or oral semaglutide, at 7mg or 14mg.
Participants took their medication every day for a year, starting on a lower dose and increasing every four weeks until reaching their randomly assigned dose.
Those on semaglutide were instructed to take the pill at least half-an-hour before their first meal, drink or other medication.
Results showed that both doses of orforglipron were better than that of semaglutide in reducing blood glucose levels.
The researchers noted the difference in blood sugar control was already significant after just a month of treatment and was sustained until the end of the trial.
The results were particularly strong for patients with higher blood sugar levels at the start of the trial.
Around a quarter of patients taking Orforglipron managed to reach near-normal blood sugar levels during the course of the study whilst only around 12 per cent of those on semaglutide managed to reduce their blood sugar to safe levels.
The researchers concluded that stricter blood sugar targets could be achievable with this drug, potentially helping millions of people with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.
Weight reduction may have helped boost these results, with patients on orforglipron losing more weight than those on semaglutide.
Patients with type 2 diabetes are recommended to lose between 5-15 per cent body weight to help manage their condition, with a more than 10 per cent reduction having disease-modifying effects including potential remission.
Up to 43 per cent of participants on orforglipron were able to drop at least 10 per cent body weight, while only 21 per cent of those on semaglutide dropped enough weight to slash their risk of heart complications.
The researchers concluded: ‘Orforglipron represents meaningful improvements in glycemic control and weight reduction compared with oral semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes, and with larger improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors and simplified administration.’
However, during the course of the study around 10 per cent of participants on orforglipron had to stop taking the pill due to adverse reactions, such as gastrointestinal issues.
Only 5 per cent of patients taking semaglutide experienced similar adverse reactions.
If approved, orforglipron (which like Mounjaro, is manufactured by Eli Lily) could become the next GLP-1 drug approved for use ‘off label’ for weight management.
Weight loss jabs have transformed obesity treatment, offering dramatic weight loss that was largely out of reach with diet and exercise alone.
Two in three Britons are now overweight or obese, driving a nearly 40 per cent rise in type 2 diabetes among under 40s.
Weight loss pills are seen as the answer, because they are easier to administer and store and are expected to be cheaper than weight loss jabs – which can cost upwards of £300 a month privately.
