A once-a-day pill for obesity could be a cheaper and more accessible weight-loss drug, after a study found the tablet can lead to “significant” reductions in body weight.
More than 60 per cent of adults living in the UK are obese or overweight – a crisis which is costing the NHS about £107 billion a year.
But almost one in five people taking the drug Orforglipron lost 20 per cent of their body weight after using it for a year and a half, researchers found.
Although the weight loss seen in people taking the tablet is not as stark as that among patients taking Mounjaro, experts believe the tablet will be more accessible and convenient compared with weight-loss injections.
“Because this pill is easier to use and may be less expensive, it could allow more people access to effective weight-loss medications and make obesity treatment simpler and more convenient for patients everywhere,” said Dr Stephen Lawrence, GP and associate clinical professor at the University of Warwick.
About 1.5 million people in the UK take drugs such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy to deal with conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
The medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, predominantly treat diabetes but are also available on the NHS or via private providers to help adults with a high body mass index. The drugs are mainly used to control blood sugar levels, but they also reduce food cravings and, as a result, can cause rapid weight loss.
The Orforglipron pill is also a GLP-1 agonist made by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.
A snapshot of the results was published by the company in August, and the full paper detailing the findings has now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented to the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria.
The study split 3,127 participants with obesity into groups taking different strengths of the weight-loss pill, while others took a placebo for 72 weeks.
Patients from the US, China, Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Slovakia and Taiwan took part in the study.
Researchers from McMaster University in Canada found that after 72 weeks, people taking the lowest dose of 6mg Orforglipron lost an average of 7.5 per cent of their body weight.
Those taking the highest dose, a 36mg tablet, lost an average of 11.2 per cent of their body weight.
Among patients taking the highest doses, 54.6 per cent of people had a reduction of 10 per cent or more of body weight, 36 per cent had a reduction of 15 per cent or more, and 18.4 per cent had a reduction of 20 per cent or more.
People taking the drug also had better blood pressure, a smaller waist circumference and a reduction in bad cholesterol levels. They reported the most common side effects were “mild to moderate” gastrointestinal issues.
“In adults with obesity, 72-week treatment with Orforglipron led to significantly greater reductions in body weight than placebo,” the authors wrote. “The adverse-event profile was consistent with that of other GLP-1 receptor agonists.”
Dr Sean Wharton, who led the research, added: “This could mean an expansion of obesity interventions to groups who are currently excluded due to the cost of and lack of access to injectable medications.”
Weight-loss jabs have been hailed as transformative by health leaders. But injections come with additional work for overstretched health services, so tablet forms of medication, which are expected to be cheaper and easier to use, may offer a new hope for the millions of people looking to lose weight.
Eli Lilly said in August it was putting up the list price of the drug by as much as 170 per cent following pressure from Donald Trump, who said he wanted to bring overseas prices on US drugs into line with US costs.
The move sparked panic among many who already take the drug, with long-term users on higher doses expected to be forced to shell out more than £100 more each month. However, the new pill is expected to be cheaper.
Dr Crystal Wyllie at Asda Online Doctor said: “Taking a pill is much more convenient for patients who struggle with needles, and also easier for healthcare services to administer. With manufacturing costs likely lower than those of injectable medications, Orforglipron could be cheaper to buy, store, and transport.”
