Once-a-day pill will provide ‘more access’ to weight loss medication

A once-a-day pill could offer “more access” to weight loss medication, experts have said after a new study confirmed the tablet can help people shed up to a tenth of their body weight.

Researchers said the pill will be cheaper than weight loss injections and could potentially make the medication available to a wider group of people who currently cannot afford to pay the high cost of the jabs.

The new pill, orforglipron, is a GLP-1 agonist, a type of medication which helps lower blood sugar levels, slows the digestion of food and can reduce appetite.

Current GLP-1 drugs on the market are taken as injections and can be expensive.

The weight loss seen among people taking orforglipron is not as stark as among those taking mounjaro, dubbed the King Kong of so-called skinny jabs, but researchers say it offers “more convenience” for patients.

A new study has reported on its safety and effectiveness among a large group of adults, bringing it a step closer to becoming available, with patients in the US expected to start taking the drug in early 2026 and the rest of the world afterwards.

The study tracked 1,444 obese people across 10 countries who were given varying strengths of the pill, with some also given a dummy drug, known as a placebo, for comparison.

All of the people involved were also given lifestyle advice and were tracked for 16 months.

Those who took the highest strength of orforglipron available in the study, 36mg, lost an average of 9.6% of their body weight during this time.

Those who took 12mg tablets lost 7% of their body weight and those who took the lowest dose, a 6mg tablet, lost 5.1% of their body weight.

People taking the placebo lost 2.5% of their body weight.

Researchers found that as well as helping people lose weight, orforglipron also helped reduce blood sugar levels.

When looking at the safety profile of the drug, the research team found that the most common adverse events were “mild to moderate gastrointestinal events”.

Writing in The Lancet, the authors said: “Orforglipron is simple to administer, with no restrictions on food and water intake or required refrigeration, potentially offering a more convenient option and broader global access to incretin therapy.”

Senior author of the study Dr Deborah Horn, medical director of the Centre for Obesity Medicine at UTHealth Houston in the US, told the PA news agency: “Because of the safety profile of orforglipron and the predicted much lower cost, it will open the door for many more individuals who need and deserve treatment for their obesity, with or without diabetes, to get care around the world.

“My hope is that orforglipron will be the ‘metformin’ of obesity – a lower cost, broad coverage, low risk, highly effective medication for obesity and many of the inter-related diseases.”

She said that it is important to have a pill version of GLP drugs because “it removes barriers to care”, adding: “No need for injections, no need for cold storage for either the manufacturer, the pharmacy, or the patient. As a small molecule, it doesn’t require special instructions around food or fasting or other medications, so it really provides improved overall convenience in addition to having all the incredible benefits of a GLP-1.

“Without the need for cold storage, this also helps us provide a medication that could be used globally in communities where refrigeration is not always accessible. The likely cost of the medication will also bridge some of the inequality gap between people who can afford or receive care and those who cannot.”

Asked about the efficacy of orforglipron compared to other GLP-1s, she said: “Orforglipron has slightly lower weight loss than either semaglutide or tirzepatide, but still provides 10.5-12.5% total body weight loss with added convenience and predicted lower cost.”

She went on: “Oforglipron is a fantastic example of the need to have tools that expand the reach of our obesity treatments to individuals who deserve care but don’t have access to the injectables.

“I am excited to see my colleagues both in primary care and specialty care embrace an oral obesity medication with so many cardiometabolic benefits.”