By Julia Musto
Copyright independent
A Wegovy weight loss pill could soon be a reality after tests showed taking the once-daily oral medication was about as successful at helping people lose weight as its injectable form.
People who were obese or overweight shed an average of 16.6 percent of their body weight following 64 weeks on the 25-milligram GLP-1 pill, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk announced Wednesday. A group who took a placebo pill only lost 2.7 percent during the same time frame.
More than a third of the 307 adult patients in the trial lost 20 percent of their body weight or more if they if they stuck to the recommended treatment plan.
“This was comparable with previous trial results of injectable Wegovy,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement, noting that people taking its pill were able to be more active and improve their cardiovascular health.
Even participants who may not have taken the pill exactly as instructed lost an average of 13.6 percent of their body weight, compared with 2.2 percent for those on the placebo pill. Nearly a third of that group also saw weight loss of more than 20 percent, versus 3.3 percent for the placebo.
Introducing a pill form of Wegovy could make the weight loss drug more accessible for those who prefer to take medication orally.
It’s unclear how much such a pill would cost, but Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy shots currently go for several hundred dollars each month, out of pocket.
This isn’t the only pill in the works, and a previous trial from Novo Nordisk’s American competitor Eli Lilly found its experimental weight loss pill wasn’t as potent as shots currently on the market.
Eli Lilly also released results Wednesday, saying its pill, orforglipron, helped reduce blood sugar levels and body weight. The pill was compared with oral doses of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Wegovy’s pill.
Both GLP-1 weight loss pills come with significant side effects similar to the shots, such as nausea and vomiting, leading some people to drop out of their trial.
Eli Lilly’s trial included adults with Type 2 diabetes, while Novo Nordisk’s trial did not.
The companies are both vying to corner the market and Novo Nordisk sought approval for its pill with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year. The agency is expected to conclude its review by the end of 2025.
Before that decision, Novo Nordisk said it was readying production at its U.S.-based sites.
“Pending FDA approval, ample supply will be available to meet the expected U.S. demand as we hope to set a new treatment benchmark for oral weight loss medications for people with overweight or obesity,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s chief scientific officer, said.
