Lilly’s obesity pill cuts 15% of weight at highest dose in mid-stage trial

SAN DIEGO – An experimental pill from Eli Lilly led to 14.7% weight loss on the highest dose in a 36-week trial, heating up the growing competition among drugmakers to develop an effective oral obesity therapy.

The mid-stage results for orforglipron match the estimates of 14-15% weight loss that Lilly gave in an investor call late last year. The full results, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, were presented here to a packed conference room at the American Diabetes Association conference.

By the end of trial, the authors said, participants’ weight loss had not plateaued, suggesting potential for even greater weight loss over a longer treatment period.