Ozempic-style pill can help people lose two stone
The study of overweight and obese adults given the drug, which targets appetite receptors, found they lost significant amounts of weight and saw improvements in heart health.
Orforglipron is part of a class of medications which has shown promise turning the tide on a host of conditions, including heart disease and strokes.
The medicine works by targeting the same GLP-1 receptors as the drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, which are given as injections.
Orforglipron is the first pill of its kind to complete phase III trials, with previous oral medications having resulted in less weight loss and requiring complex food and water restrictions.
The drug is expected to be available in the UK as soon as next year at a much lower cost than weight-loss injections.
Manufacturer Eli Lilly has said it is confident they would be able to launch it globally without any supply constraints.
Experts have said it could prove 'game-changing' with millions more people likely to opt for pills.
The results announced by Eli Lilly come from a trial of 3,127 adults who were overweight or obese, and also had a weight-related medical problem, such as high blood pressure or heart disease.
The drug has already shown good results in patients with type 2 diabetes.
At 72 weeks, there was average weight loss of 27. 3lbs (12.4 kilos). And six in 10 participants lost at least 10 per cent of their body weight.
Separate trials have shown other injections have caused greater weight loss - with average loss of almost three and half stone (22 kilos) for those on the highest dose of Mounjaro.
But the convenience of a daily pill, and a lower cost, is likely to appeal to an even greater market than those taking injections.
The trial also found that orforglipron was associated with reductions in known markers of cardiovascular risk, including non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure in pooled analyses across all doses.
Detailed results will be presented next month at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting 2025 in Vienna.
Obesity affects 1 billion people worldwide
Kenneth Custer, president of Eli Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said: ' Obesity is one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time, driving global chronic disease burden and impacting more than 1 billion people worldwide.'
'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.
'With these positive data in hand, we are now planning to submit orforglipron for regulatory review by year-end and are prepared for a global launch to address this urgent public health need.'
Dr Simon Cork, a senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: 'These preliminary results on the effectiveness of orforglipron in promoting clinically significant weight loss are a positive step forward in the development of these class of drugs.
'It should be noted that their effects on weight loss are not as profound as that seen in injectable GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Wegovy, with a lower percentage weight loss and fewer people achieving 10 per cent weight loss at the highest dose.
'Nevertheless, that this medication is an oral form, rather than injectable, will likely be seen as more tolerable for many patients. The manufacturing costs are also anticipated to be significantly lower than injectable drugs, meaning these medications may be more equitable in their availability.
'It should be noted that these are preliminary, non-peer reviewed results and we will need to see the full trial methodology and data before a more comprehensive analysis can be undertaken.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Butterfly from Southern Europe spotted in UK for first time
A species of butterfly previously only found in Southern Europe has been seen in the UK for the first time, according to charity Butterfly have tracked the Southern Small White butterfly's rapid expansion northwards through Europe over recent first UK sighting was confirmed at Landguard Bird Observatory in Suffolk, after a volunteer managed to snap a is not yet clear what has driven the species' expansion, though a warming climate is thought to be part of the answer. Until recently, the range of the Southern Small White was limited to Southern Europe, in particular south-east Conservation says the species was first spotted north of the Alps in France and Germany in 2008, and since then it has gradually extended its range, reaching the Netherlands in 2015 and Calais in first UK visitor was a female butterfly and was spotted at Landguard Nature Reserve on 2 August by volunteer Will Brame, according to BirdGuides. Its identification as a Southern Small White was confirmed by butterfly expert Chris van Swaay of Dutch Butterfly Corton, a County Recorder for Butterflies in Suffolk, contacted us about the story through Your Voice, Your BBC it is thought a warming climate has played a role in its spread, modelling from a 2008 Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies showed that even under the most extreme warming scenarios the species was not expected in the Low Countries until after 2050. Dr Dan Hoare, Director of Nature Recovery at Butterfly Conservation, said the species had made an "ecological leap"."There are species that are rare in the UK and periodically over the years they have turned up in ones and twos... but it's not really indicating any significant shift in our fauna," he said."Southern Small White is very different. It's basically colonised northern Europe from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea in the last decade, moving north at a rate of about 100 kilometres [62 miles] a year."But whether the species stays long term is yet to be seen, he says, as its food source is a garden species called Candytuft that is not as widely planted species has never been a migrant to the UK, and is yet to have been recorded breeding here, which is what a resident species would do.
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
CureVac settles patent dispute litigation with Pfizer and BioNTech
Aug 7 (Reuters) - CureVac ( opens new tab said on Thursday that the company and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab have entered an agreement to a resolve patent dispute with Pfizer (PFE.N), opens new tab and BioNTech ( opens new tab related to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. As part of the settlement, CureVac and GSK will receive a combined payment of $740 million and single-digit royalties on sales of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. going forward. CureVac will also grant BioNTech and Pfizer a non-exclusive license to manufacture, use, import and sell mRNA-based COVID-19 and influenza products in the U.S.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Near 50% rise in people contacting NSPCC over children's welfare in sports settings, charity says
The number of people contacting a helpline with concerns about the welfare of young people in sports clubs rose by almost 50 per cent in a year, a children 's charity has said. The NSPCC said the rise might have been prompted by greater awareness following high-profile investigations into sports settings in recent years, as well as increased knowledge about the helpline. It said said the jump also 'possibly shows a rise in the abuse of children in sports settings', but noted that adult survivors have also been reporting historic abuse to the helpline. The NSPCC Helpline had 623 contacts from adults across the UK with concerns about a child's welfare in a sports setting in the 12 months to the end of March. This was up from 425 the previous year – a rise of 47 per cent. The most common concerns raised by contacts to the helpline were about sexual abuse or exploitation, emotional abuse and physical abuse. Christian McMullan, NSPCC professional learning services director, said it is 'vital that parents, carers, staff and volunteers not only know how to spot the signs that a child may be experiencing difficulties, but also what to do and who to speak to, so that a child can be supported'. He added: 'Our Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport resources are free, easy to access and use, and can help adults understand more about what role they can play in ensuring young people can enjoy their sport in safety.'
