“A daily pill may be as effective in lowering blood sugar and aiding weight loss in people with Type 2 diabetes as the popular injectable drugs Mounjaro and Ozempic, according to results of a clinical trial announced by Eli Lilly on Thursday morning.

The drug, orforglipron, is a GLP-1, a class of drugs that have become blockbusters because of their weight-loss effects. But the GLP-1s on the market now are expensive, must be kept refrigerated and must be injected. A pill that produces similar results has the potential to become far more widely used, though it is also expected to be expensive…

The clinical trial involved 559 people with Type 2 diabetes who took the new pill or a placebo for 40 weeks. In patients who took orforglipron, A1C, a measure of blood sugar levels over time, fell by 1.3 to 1.6 percent. That is about the same amount as A1C fell in that time period experienced by patients taking Ozempic and Mounjaro in unrelated trials. For 65 percent of people taking the new pill, blood sugar levels dropped into the normal range.

Patients on the new pill also lost weight — an average of 16 pounds for those taking the highest dose. Their weight loss was similar to that achieved in 40 weeks with Ozempic but slightly less than with Mounjaro in unrelated trials.

Side effects were the same as those with the injectable obesity drugs — diarrhea, indigestion, constipation, nausea and vomiting.”

From New York Times.