Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro, said its experimental GLP-1 pill successfully helped adults with obesity lose weight in a Phase 3 trial, as the company moves closer to submitting the drug for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
In a news release Thursday, the drugmaker said the oral medication, called orforglipron, helped adults lose an average of 27.3 pounds in a 72-week trial.
The pill showed “significant efficacy, and a safety and tolerability profile consistent with injectable GLP-1 therapies,” the release added.
The results shared by Eli Lilly, which have not been peer reviewed and published as of Thursday morning, are “on par with what we see with the injectable forms of these drugs,” Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on “CBS Mornings” Thursday.
Some investors, however, were disappointed with the results Eli Lilly provided. Shares of the company were down about 13.9% Thursday morning.
Also like the injectables, the pill showed some side effects among participants, with the most commonly reported issues being nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.
“About 10% of people who are taking the highest dose, which is also what got you that high level of weight loss … were unable to continue, had to stop, due to the side effects,” Gounder said.
Eli Lilly said it is on track to submit orforglipron to regulatory agencies like the FDA for approval later this year, which means it could be available to consumers in 2026, Gounder said. It is unclear how much the drug will cost, but Gounder said she expected it to cost less than injectables.
A pill would be a “game changer” in terms of accessibility, she said.
“With the injectables, you need needles. You need to be able to refrigerate,” she said. “What’s great about the pills is it’s a lot cheaper to manufacture a pill. It’s a lot easier to take, and there are no restrictions around, you have to take it with water, with food. You can take it at any time of day. So this will make it a lot more accessible to people, both in terms of cost as well as convenience.”
Earlier this year, orforglipron’s efficacy and safety was measured in a trial with adults who have Type 2 diabetes, showing positive results.
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