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New Delhi | Mumbai: A new oral pill for weight loss has moved a step closer to commercial launch, raising hopes for millions who suffer from needle phobia and have avoided taking Mounjaro or Wegovy, the two blockbuster drugs sweeping the world. The oral drug, orforglipron, showed encouraging results in late-stage or phase three clinical trials, said Eli Lilly, which is developing the formulation.Eli Lilly's clinical trials were conducted on more than 550 people with Type-2 diabetes in countries such as the US, China, India, Japan and Mexico.
People who took a 36 mg pill of orforglipron lost an average 7.2 kg during the 40-week trial, the US drug maker said in a news release. The weight reduction was an average 4.
2 kg on the 3 mg pill and 5.2 kg on the 12 mg pill. The trial also showed that taking a daily pill of 3 mg, 12 mg or 36 mg reduced blood sugar by 1.
2% to 1.5%.While it has shown an average weight reduction of 7.
9% over 40 weeks with the 36 mg dose, Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, the officially approved injectable drug in India for obesity, had shown an average loss of 15% over a 68-week period at a higher dose during clinical trials. Novo Nordisk is expected to soon launch Wegovy in India.According to the government's clinical trials registry, orforglipron trials in India started in May 2023 and are ongoing in 10 sites across the country with about 100 participants.
The permission for the trials is valid for two years.During his visit to India last month, Eli Lilly chief executive David Ricks told ET that the launch of orforglipron will be an important tool to fight obesity and diabetes, especially for emerging markets, because it doesn't require refrigeration. It's an oral tablet, which is a much easier distribution pathway.
So, we have an exciting future, he told ET during an interaction.However, doctors are taking a cautious view. Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis-C-DOC Centre of Excellence for diabetes, metabolic diseases and endocrinology, said it is too early to comment on orforglipron as rival Rybelsus (semaglutide) is as effective to control diabetes and obesity.
Novo Nordisk's Rybelsus is approved for treating diabetes in India but is also used off-label for weight loss.New molecule with an edge It was launched in 2022. The pill is marketed in three strengths (3, 7 and 14 mg), and is priced at about Rs 10,000 a month.
Its Ozempic is also prescribed for diabetes, but is used off-label for obesity.Orforglipron will have an edge, though, said V Mohan, chairman of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai, whose centre is also one of the trial sites in India. It's a new molecule, a new class of drug along with additional advantages, he said.
Many people do not like injections and hence introducing an oral compound will definitely be welcomed, he said, though adding that oral formulations can never match the extent of weight-loss benefits that is seen with the injectable versions.Orforglipron is a non-peptide GLP-1 (a gut hormone that controls sugar levels and appetite) while Rybelsus is a peptide (chain of amino acids that build proteins). That makes the manufacturing process more complex for Rybelsus, while orforglipron can have an edge of making since it is a small molecule.
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