London: A new daily weight-loss pill, Orforglipron, could help people maintain their slimmer weight after coming off obesity injections, according to new research that suggests the treatment may reduce the risk of regaining lost weight.
The tablet is already available in the United States and could soon be launched in the United Kingdom. Researchers found that patients who took the pill every day for a year were able to avoid regaining much of the weight they had previously lost through GLP-1 injections, a common issue after stopping the drugs.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, was funded by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer behind the weight-loss injection Mounjaro. Health experts say more research is still needed to determine how long patients may need to continue treatment, with some suggesting it could potentially become a lifelong therapy for certain individuals.
Dr. Marie Spreckley, a specialist in weight management research at University of Cambridge who was not involved in the study, said that swallowing a daily pill may be more appealing to some patients than having to inject themselves regularly.
Orforglipron works in a similar way to injectable GLP-1 drugs by mimicking a natural hormone that suppresses appetite and helps people feel fuller for longer periods.
In the United States, where the pill is already available, the cost is significantly lower than many injectable treatments. The lowest dose is priced at around $149 per month, compared with more than $1,000 monthly for some GLP-1 injections.
US President Donald Trump has also announced agreements aimed at reducing the cost of popular weight-loss medications in the country. The price of orforglipron in the UK has not yet been announced, as the medication has not been officially launched there.
Meanwhile, rival pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has also developed an oral version of its injectable GLP-1 medication Wegovy. The oral treatment has already been approved in the US, while a regulatory decision is still pending in the UK.
The clinical study involved 376 participants in the US who had already been using GLP-1 injections, including Mounjaro or Wegovy, for more than a year and had successfully lost weight. Participants were instructed to stop using the injections and instead take either a daily orforglipron tablet or a placebo pill for one year, without knowing which treatment they were receiving.
At the end of the study, those taking orforglipron managed to maintain more than 70 percent of their earlier weight loss, while participants in the placebo group maintained only around 38 to 50 percent of their previous weight reduction. Side effects linked to the pill were common but generally mild and included nausea, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr. Simon Cork from Anglia Ruskin University described the findings as a significant development because the study addresses one of the biggest limitations of injectable GLP-1 medications, the tendency for patients to regain substantial weight after stopping treatment.
Dr.Cork also highlighted that patients taking the oral medication maintained improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood glucose, factors that could help reduce long-term health risks associated with obesity, including heart disease.
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