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Eli Lilly
on Tuesday said its daily weight loss pill helped patients with obesity and Type 2 diabetes shed weight in a late-stage trial, meeting the study’s main goal and clearing the way for the company to file for approval of the drug globally.
The treatment is inching closer to becoming a new, needle-free alternative in the highly lucrative market for weight loss and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s. More convenient pills could boost supply for the treatments and make them easier to access than the pricey weekly injections currently dominating the space. The Eli Lilly pill also would not come with dietary restrictions, in contrast to a similar oral treatment from chief rival Novo Nordisk.
The highest dose of the pill, orforglipron, helped patients lose 10.5% of their weight, or 22.9 pounds, on average at 72 weeks, compared to 2.2% weight loss among those who took a placebo. The drug’s weight loss in the study was 9.6% when analyzing all patients regardless of discontinuations.
