Eli Lilly Says Its Obesity Pill Topped Novo Nordisk’s Oral Drug In Late-Stage Diabetes Trial

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) stated on Wednesday that its oral weight-loss drug was found to be superior to its rival Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) oral Semaglutide in a head-to-head late-stage trial.

The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of Lilly’s Orforglipron in 1,698 adults with type 2 diabetes as compared to oral Semaglutide. At 52 weeks, Orforglipron met the primary as well as secondary endpoints across each dose comparison vs. oral Semaglutide, delivering greater improvements in average blood sugar levels and weight, the company said.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around LLY stock stayed within the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

Kenneth Custer, executive vice president and president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said that in the trial, Orforglipron outperformed both doses of oral Semaglutide in reducing blood glucose levels. “At the highest dose, Orforglipron helped nearly three times as many participants reach near-normal blood sugar versus the highest dose of oral Semaglutide,” he said, while adding that head-to-head trials are a “gold standard for comparing potential treatments."

The trial compared 12 mg and 36 mg of Orforglipron with 7 mg and 14 mg of oral Semaglutide. Orforglipron lowered blood glucose levels by as much as 2.2% compared to 1.4% with the highest dose of oral Semaglutide at 52 weeks. Notably, 37.1% of participants taking the highest dose of Orforglipron achieved a blood glucose level lower than 5.7% compared to 12.5% taking the highest dose of oral Semaglutide, Lilly said.

Furthermore, participants taking Lilly’s drug achieved as much as a 9.2% reduction in weight from baseline, compared to 5.3% with oral Semaglutide, the company said. Orforglipron also showed clinically meaningful improvements across key cardiovascular risk factors, it added.

Treatment discontinuation rates due to adverse events, however, were higher in the Orforglipron population, though the study was not powered to compare the safety and tolerability of Orforglipron and oral Semaglutide.

Treatment discontinuation rates due to adverse events were 8.7% for 12 mg Orforglipron and 9.7% for 36 mg Orforglipron, as compared to 4.5% for 7 mg oral Semaglutide and 4.9% for 14 mg oral Semaglutide, Lilly said.

The company expects to submit applications for Orforglipron for the treatment of type 2 diabetes to global regulatory agencies in 2026. Oral Semaglutide, meanwhile, is already approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes under the name Rybelsus.

LLY stock is down by 15% over the past 12 months. 

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