A DAILY weight loss pill that works like Ozempic has succeeded in a major clinical trial.
Patients lost an average of a stone and two pounds (7.3kg) each over 10 months.
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Unhealthy blood sugar readings also dropped and stayed low, indicating it treats type 2 diabetes.
The results make the tablet orforglipron the most advanced drug of its kind and paves the way for NHS use in the future.
Manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company, which also makes blockbuster weight loss injection Mounjaro, announced the results on Thursday.
CEO David Ricks said: “We are pleased to see that our latest medicine meets our expectations for safety and tolerability, glucose control and weight loss.
Read more on weight loss jabs
“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 around the world.”
The pill is a drug known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, the same as wildly popular jabs Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.
Although different active ingredients - Mounjaro is tirzepatide and Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide - they all work by mimicking hormones that tell the brain the stomach is full, releasing insulin to break down sugar in the blood.
This also switches off hunger signals so the patient eats less and avoids weight gain.
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Lilly’s 40-week trial on 559 obese people with type 2 diabetes found they lost an average of eight per cent of their bodyweight after taking the strongest dose of 36mg.
A 12mg dose led to six per cent weight loss over the 10 months, and a 3mg dose five per cent.
People taking a fake pill lost 1.6 per cent.
This could be readily manufactured and launched at scale for use around the world
David RicksCEO, Lilly
The popularity of GLP-1 slimming injections has rocketed in the past two years because they cause such easy, rapid weight loss.
Around a third of adults in the UK are obese and the rate has doubled since the 1990s.
But side effects can be severe or even deadly, they are not suitable for everyone and a majority of people prefer pills to injections.
A one-a-day tablet could in future be easier to take, cheaper to make and have fewer side effects.
Diarrhoea was the most common side effect in the trial, affecting up to one in five people, with some also feeling sick or getting indigestion.
These are also common side effects of fat jabs.
The weight loss was not as large as with injections but the trial was shorter, meaning the pill may be equally or more effective if taken for longer.
Independent expert Professor Naveed Sattar, of the University of Glasgow, said: “These are important results and having new oral agents is critical to future type 2 diabetes care.”
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Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk has finished trials for an oral semaglutide pill for obesity and has said it would file for FDA approval in the first half of 2025.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients' sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients' mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
