Advertisement. Remove ads.
Eli Lilly (LLY) announced on Thursday that its weight loss pill has succeeded Phase 3 trials on Type 2 diabetes patients, helping them lower their blood sugar levels as well as body weight.
Eli Lilly’s experimental pill, orforglipron, is now a step closer to entering the market as an oral weight loss drug. A successful completion of trials and commercial launch would give the company an edge over rival Novo Nordisk.
The company said orforglipron is the first oral small molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist to successfully complete a Phase 3 trial. It does not come with any food or water restrictions.
Eli Lilly CEO David A. Ricks said the company is looking forward to additional data readouts this year.
“As a convenient once-daily pill, orforglipron may provide a new option and, if approved, could be readily manufactured and launched at scale for use by people around the world,” he said.
Eli Lilly reported that on average, participants taking orforglipron lost 16.0 pounds (lbs) (7.9%) at the highest dose. It added that full weight reduction may not have been reached at the time of reporting.
The company also noted that they were consistent with what has been observed in drugs in the GLP-1 class. The common adverse events include gastrointestinal-related, with severity ranging from mild to moderate.
Eli Lilly’s stock surged more than 11% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.