Daily weight loss pill cuts body weight by fifth, trial shows

A new weight loss pill helped participants reduce their body weight in a recent clinic trial, a development that could pave the way for millions more people to shed pounds.

The drug called orforglipron is manufactured by Eli Lilly and uses the same GLP-1 receptors as weight loss injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.

The clinical trial involved 3,127 adults, and one in five people who took the once-a-day tablet for 72 weeks lost 20% or more of their body weight.

Weight loss jabs have been transformative, but pill versions are seen as a holy grill because they are comparatively easier to store, disseminate and administer. They are also expected to be cheaper and as a result, offer hope for millions of people to reduce their weight.

Orforglipron is not currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Eli Lilly has confirmed that it expects substantial demand when the new pill is officially launched.

The company published results in August, and the findings have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It was presented to the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria.

The research study involves 3,127 patients who were split into groups taking orforglipron pills of distinct strengths, while others took a placebo for 72 weeks.

It has been observed that all of the patients had obesity, meaning they had a body mass index (BMI) score of 30 or over; however, they did not have diabetes.

Several patients from the US, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, India, Taiwan and Slovakia participated in the study.

Researchers of McMaster University in Canada found that people taking the lowest average dose of orforglipron-6mg daily tablets- lost an average of 7.5% of their body weight after 72 weeks.

The patients taking the highest doses had a significant reduction of body weight. It was observed that, among these patients, 54.6% lost 10% or more of body weight, while 36% lost 20% or more.

Weight loss drugs have been playing a pivotal role in helping millions of people trying to lose weight.

The study will follow up for longer periods in future trials. Additionally, real-word studies were essential to establish the long-term effects of GLP-1 RAs in children and adolescents.