INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis-based Lilly said Thursday its daily obesity pill, orforglipron, has shown “positive results” in a late-stage trial.
Patients taking orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 receptor, lost almost 12% of their body weight, or roughly 27 pounds, at 72 weeks, study results show.
“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,” Kenneth Custer, Ph.D., executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in a release.
The trial began in 2023 and involved 3,127 adults with obesity, or overweight with a weight-related medical problem and without diabetes.
Patients took orforglipron in one of three doses: 6 mg, 12 mg, and 36 mg.
The highest dose helped nearly 60% of patients lose 10% or more of their body weight, Lilly says, while 39.6% lost at least 15% of their body weight. Participants taking a placebo lost just under 1% of their body weight, or roughly 2.2 pounds.
“All three doses of orforglipron, met the primary endpoint and all key secondary endpoints compared to placebo, delivering clinically meaningful weight loss as an adjunct to a healthy diet and physical activity,” Lilly said in a release.
In addition to significant weight loss, Lilly says orforglipron led to reductions in non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure across all doses.
About 10.5% of patients taking the highest dose of the pill — 36 mg — stopped taking it due to side effects, study results show. The most commonly-reported side effects included, nausea, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting.
The trial began in 2023 and additional findings from related trials will be shared later this year.
Lilly says it plans to submit orforglipron for regulatory review by the end of 2025.
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