Lilly's GLP-1 pill cuts body weight by 12.4% in trial, lagging Novo's injection
Lilly shares tumbled about 14% in premarket trading.
Unlike injectable obesity drugs, which are peptides designed to mimic the appetite-controlling GLP-1 hormone, orforglipron is a small molecule pill that is easier to manufacture and package, said Kenneth Custer, president of Lilly's cardiometabolic health division.
Lilly, whose injectable GLP-1 Zepbound competes directly with Wegovy, views the once-daily pill as a promising alternative to injections that could be used for early intervention and long-term disease management, Custer said.
Patient preference also leans towards oral medications over injections. Several studies have shown that a significant portion of patients prefer pills due to convenience and a dislike of needles.
"We have pretty big aspirations for how many patients orforglipron could help," he said, adding that Lilly still expects to file for regulatory approvals of the once-daily pill before the end of the year.
In the over 3,000-person study of overweight or obese adults with weight-related health issues, but not diabetes, those who received the highest 36 milligram dose of orforglipron on average shed 12.4% of their weight versus 0.9% for those who received a placebo.
Patients on the 6 mg dose of the Lilly drug lost 7.8% of their weight.
The most common side effects seen in the study were mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal issues. The rate of nausea for high-dose patients was 33.7%, while 24% experienced vomiting, compared with 10.4% and 3.5%, respectively for the placebo group.
Just over 10% of the high-dose patients dropped out of the trial due to adverse side effects. No liver safety issues were seen, Lilly said.
At least three analysts said the market had been looking for orforglipron to match Wegovy's 14.9% weight loss over 68 weeks, as shown in a 2021 trial, with some expecting the pill to surpass Novo's popular drug.
Zepbound and Wegovy currently dominate the weight-loss market, which some analysts expect to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing a high-dose oral version of Wegovy for potential approval later this year. Novo said it helped overweight or obese adults lose 15% of their body weight in a late-stage trial.
Custer said orforglipron can be taken without restrictions on food and water.
Lilly said orforglipron also lowered markers of heart disease risk, including cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, across all doses.
Wegovy has been approved to reduce the risk of major heart problems, and Lilly last week released data showing the heart-protective qualities of diabetes treatment Mounjaro, which has the same main ingredient as Zepbound. Heart disease approvals would greatly enhance the likelihood of insurance coverage for weight-loss drugs.
The company announced earlier this year that a Phase 3 study found that type 2 diabetes patients lost nearly 8% of their body weight after 40 weeks on orforglipron.
Lilly has also said it has begun manufacturing the drug in order to stockpile supply ahead of a commercial launch, which should help avoid shortages experienced when early demand for the injectables far outstripped supply.
The full results from the Lilly-backed trial will be presented next month at a major European diabetes meeting, the Indianapolis-based drugmaker said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
CDC shooter blamed COVID vaccine for depression; union demands statement against misinformation
A Georgia man who had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal has been identified as the shooter who opened fire late Friday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, killing a police officer. The 30-year-old suspect, who died during the incident, had also tried to get into the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday. The man, identified as Patrick Joseph White, was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. A union representing workers at the CDC said the incident was not random and 'compounds months of mistreatment, neglect, and vilification that CDC staff have endured." It demanded federal officials condemn vaccine misinformation, saying it was putting scientists at risk. Here's what to know about the shooting and the continuing investigation: An attack on a prominent public health institution Police say White opened fire outside the CDC headquarters in Atlanta on Friday, leaving bullet marks in windows across the sprawling campus. At least four CDC buildings were hit, Director Susan Monarez said on X. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding. Rose, 33, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, had graduated from the police academy in March. White was found on the second floor of a building across the street from the CDC campus and died at the scene, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. He added that 'we do not know at this time whether that was from officers or if it was self-inflicted.' The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said the crime scene was 'complex' and the investigation would take 'an extended period of time." CDC union calls condemnation of vaccine misinformation and tighter security The American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2883, said the CDC and leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services must provide a 'clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation.' Such a public statement by federal officials is needed to help prevent violence against scientists, the union said in a news release. 'Their leadership is critical in reinforcing public trust and ensuring that accurate, science-based information prevails,' the union said. Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off CDC employees has said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC's workforce through "his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust.' Kennedy reached out to staff on Saturday, saying 'no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others.' Thousands of people who work on critical disease research are employed on the campus. The union said some staff were huddled in various buildings until late at night, including more than 90 young children who were locked down inside the CDC's Clifton School. The union said CDC staff should not be required to immediately return to work after experiencing such a traumatic event. In a statement released Saturday, it said windows and buildings should first be fixed and made 'completely secure." 'Staff should not be required to work next to bullet holes,' the union said. 'Forcing a return under these conditions risks re-traumatizing staff by exposing them to the reminders of the horrific shooting they endured.' The union called for 'perimeter security on all campuses' until the investigation is fully completed and shared with staff. Shooter had fixation on COVID-19 vaccine White's father, who contacted police and identified his son as the possible shooter, said White had been upset over the death of his dog and also had become fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the law enforcement official. A neighbor of White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that White 'seemed like a good guy' but spoke with her multiple times about his distrust of COVID-19 vaccines in unrelated conversations. 'He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people,' Nancy Hoalst, told the Atlanta newspaper. 'He emphatically believed that.' But Hoalst said she never believed White would be violent: 'I had no idea he thought he would take it out on the CDC.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Cancer treatment saved my life but left me unable to have sex - but a radical new treatment gave me my va-va-voom back
Like many women, when Anna Sullivan was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 37-years-old, her primary concern was surviving the treatment that would hopefully kill the disease and stop her cancer from spreading. But her second thought, which she was too ashamed to voice at the time, was: 'What will happen to my body?' 'After I was diagnosed back in 2017 my doctor told me that my treatment plan would catapult me into menopause,' she explained. 'The hardest thing about it was that I was unprepared. It was something that I thought was at least still a few years away. 'None of my friends had gone through it and my mum passed away the year before so I had no one. 'I was completely alone.' Thankfully, after a mastectomy and starting hormone therapy—which works by reducing the amount of oestrogen in the body and inhibits its cancer-growing effect—Ms Sullivan was given the all clear. The treatment ultimately saved her life—but, after months of gruelling side-effects, she can't help but think there must be a better option for women who have survived cancer. 'I was still under the care of my oncologist for my hormone therapy and it took me a while to figure out what was happening to my body and muster up the courage to talk about the symptoms,' she explained. 'At no point did a doctor mention the vaginal symptoms I might experience as a result of medically induced menopause. 'That's something I figured out on my own—when I tried to have sex with my husband.' The mental health councilor was suffering from a condition known as genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). GSM is commonly experienced by breast cancer survivors on hormone therapy, causing vaginal dryness, pain during sex and can massively impact a patient's quality of life. 'It hurts all the time,' she recalls telling her oncologist. 'Especially during sex.' 'But my pain wasn't taken seriously. I was just told "if you don't use it, you'll lose it". 'I just had to get on with it.' Whilst dyspareunia is not uncommon during the menopause, as vaginal dryness can make penetrative sex more painful, there are a number of oestrogen-based products that can be used to help promote lubrication. But, given her cancer diagnosis and a lack of extensive research on the subject, Ms Reiser did not feel comfortable using an oestrogen based cream, for fears of increasing the risk of her cancer returning. 'Ultimately, my doctor's response just created more shame around symptoms I already felt uncomfortable discussing, playing into the culture of violence surrounding the menopause. 'When you are vulnerable and try to open up about what you're going through and then you're immediately shut down, you internalise that shame and it becomes something you don't talk about,' she added. Thankfully, Ms Sullivan eventually felt comfortable speaking about her symptoms with her GP who was able to recommend an alternative: PRP vaginal rejuvenation therapy. Recalling the conversation she said: 'She was the one who really educated me on the menopause and how it would affect everything from my energy levels to my mood, bone health, sleep and sex drive.' After trying what felt like every treatment available to her to alleviate her pain and get her sex life back on track, including laser treatment, Ms Sullivan booked in for PRP therapy. The treatment, which stands for platelet-rich plasma injections, works by using a woman's own blood component to promote healing and tissue regeneration in the vagina. A clinician will take a patient's blood before processing it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets—which are small cell fragments in the blood that form blood clots and promote healing. The concentrated plasma is then injected into specific areas of the vagina to simulate cell regeneration and support tissue growth. The treatment is said to provide a range of benefits from enhanced sexual function, through increasing sensitivity and improve lubrication, to pain relief and vaginal rejuvination. Whilst Ms Sullivan did not experience lasting pain relief after the treatment when it came to sex, she said it helped improve sensation and lubrication and opened the door for more open and honest conversation about cancer, sex and the menopause. She now uses a carefully-curated combination of treatments including pelvic floor therapy and low-dose oestrogen creams, after reading compelling new research, to treat her symptoms, allowing her to live an almost normal life. She said: 'I used to be really scared of using oestrogen creams, even though the pain was unbearable and ruining my sex life, because it was thought for a long time that oestrogen could increase the chance of breast cancer returning. 'I know now that this simply is not true. But the culture of fear around using hormone therapy started so long ago it's going to take a long time for that fear to subside.' She now wants to help reduce the stigma and shame surrounding the menopause, especially for women who have been left with no other choice but to face it early because of cancer. Her plea comes as millions of women could soon benefit from a new all-natural intimate cream being hailed as a female version of Viagra. Makers of the plant-based formula—called Myregyna—insist it can restore vulval health and 'bring back the joy of sex' for women battling the menopause, all without the use of hormones. Inventor Dr Iona Weir claims trials have shown the cream improves sexual response and function in women dealing with the effects of menopause. It's applied to the intimate area nightly and taken alongside a daily supplement, with results expected in as little as a month. The cream is designed to reverse the symptoms of GSM including vaginal dryness, incontinence, discomfort and pain during sex—all of which can severely impact quality of life. Currently around 90 per cent of women with cancer encounter seuxl health problems which can lead to long-term distress affecting personal and social well-being. Around half of post-menopausal women will experience vaginal dryness—most of whom don't seek treatment for their symptoms which typically include vaginal dryness, irritation and pain during intercourse.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
My toenails have gone hard, crusty and frighteningly yellow. Is there ANYTHING I can do? DR ELLIE has the most ingenious solution
My toenails have become hard and crusty. They don't cause me any problems, but I don't like how they look. What can I do? It's normal for the toenails to thicken with age, but sometimes the problem can be due to a medical issue.
