A new once-a-day pill that could be cheaper than weight loss jabs can help people shed up to 10 per cent of their body weight, a study has revealed.
Researchers have said the pill could make the medication available to a wider group of people who currently cannot afford to pay the high cost of the jabs.
The new pill, orforglipron, is a GLP-1 agonist, a type of medication that helps lower blood sugar levels, slows the digestion of food and can reduce appetite.
Current GLP-1 drugs, taken by around 2.5million people in the UK, are injections and can cost as much as £206 a dose.
Although the weight loss seen among people taking orforglipron is not as stark as among those taking Mounjaro, the brand name for tirzepatide, researchers say it offers “more convenience” for patients.
“Its effects in terms of weight loss or diabetes improvements are not as good as tirzepatide but it’s a tablet and that may make it more acceptable by patients who prefer not to inject,” Alex Miras, professor of endocrinology at Ulster University told the Independent.
“As a tablet it is much easier and cheaper to be made by the manufacturer and I am hoping that this will be reflected in a favourable price,” he added.
A new study published in the Lancet has reported on the safety and effectiveness of the pill bringing it closer to becoming available to patients.
In the US patients are expected to start taking the pill in early 2026 followed by the rest of the world.
The study tracked 1,444 obese people across 10 countries who were given varying strengths of the pill, with some also given a placebo, for comparison.
All of the people involved were also given lifestyle advice on healthy eating and exercise, and were tracked for 16 months.
Those who took the highest strength of orforglipron available in the study, 36mg, lost an average of 9.6 per cent of their body weight during this time.
Those who took 12mg tablets lost 7 per cent of their body weight and those who took the lowest dose, a 6mg tablet, lost 5.1 per cent of their body weight.
People taking the placebo lost 2.5 per cent of their body weight.
Researchers found that as well as helping people lose weight, orforglipron also helped reduce blood sugar levels.
The most adverse effects of the drug were “mild to moderate gastrointestinal events”.
The drug has been predicted to be cheaper, not require cold storage, or have special instructions around food or fasting making it accessible for more people, study authors explain.
“Having more safe and effective options for weight loss is a positive step forward,” Naveed Sattar, professor of cardiometabolic medicine at Glasgow University told the Independent.
“A new oral tablet for weight loss, which can be taken alongside other medications without the need for fasting, could provide a convenient option for people with mild to moderate obesity who want to prevent further weight gain,” he added.
“Because of the safety profile of orforglipron and the predicted much lower cost, it will open the door for many more individuals who need and deserve treatment for their obesity, with or without diabetes, to get care around the world,” senior author of the study Dr Deborah Horn, medical director of the Centre for Obesity Medicine at UTHealth Houston in the US said.
“My hope is that orforglipron will be the ‘metformin’ of obesity – a lower cost, broad coverage, low risk, highly effective medication for obesity and many of the inter-related diseases.”
