New daily weight loss pill made patients lose over 10% of their body weight

Needle-less to say, it’s effective!

Eli Lilly’s experimental GLP-1 pill caused participants in a late-stage trial to shed an average of 10.5% of their body weight — nearly 23 pounds — over 16 months, according to data released Tuesday.

The daily medication, known as orforglipron, has also been shown to reduce hemoglobin A1C —average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months — by 1.3% to 1.8% in people with diabetes.

Lilly plans to submit its full trial data for US regulatory approval for obesity by the end of the year, which would reshape a GLP-1 market dominated by injectables.

“If approved, we are ready to offer a convenient, once-daily pill that can be scaled globally — removing barriers and redefining how obesity is treated around the world,” Kenneth Custer, Lilly executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in a statement.

In this latest trial, over 1,600 overweight diabetics received either orforglipron in 6-, 12- or 36-milligram (mg) doses or a placebo.

The participants took the pill once a day without food and water restrictions for 72 weeks.

The 36-mg dose brought the greatest weight loss, 10.5%, while the 12-mg dose group shed 7.8% of their body weight on average.

Those on 6 mg dropped 5.5% while placebo takers slimmed down 2.2% (just over 5 pounds).

Orforglipron users also saw improvements in their non-HDL “bad” cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and triglycerides, all significant factors for heart disease and stroke, Lilly said.

Like other GLP-1 treatments, top-reported side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and indigestion that were generally mild to moderate.

Some 10.6% of participants on the highest orforglipron dose stopped treatment due to side effects compared to 4.6% of placebo users.

Quitting GLP-1 medications — because of side effects, cost or supply troubles — is a major problem because people tend to regain the weight.

GLP-1 drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone the body naturally produces after eating, so users feel fuller for longer and don’t crave food as often.

The body’s natural hunger signals and previous metabolic slowdown typically return when the medication stops.

Most GLP-1 drugs are injectable. Novo Nordisk’s Rybelsus — which is made with semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic — is a pill that has been approved for treating Type 2 diabetes in adults.

Other pills are in the works. The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing Novo Nordisk’s application for an oral version of its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.

Expect the market to swell as research reveals more promising applications for GLP-1 drugs beyond obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Scientists are investigating their ability to reduce the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, neurodegenerative disorders, substance abuse and other chronic conditions.