Daily Pill Maintains 70% of Weight Loss vs 38-50% on Placebo One Year After Stopping GLP-1 Injections

A daily tablet called orforglipron helped patients maintain more than 70 percent of earlier weight loss one year after stopping GLP-1 injections, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The research, funded by Eli Lilly which also manufactures Mounjaro, involved 376 participants in the US.

Those participants had been on tirzepatide (Mounjaro) or semaglutide (Wegovy) for more than a year and had successfully lost weight on the GLP-1 jabs.

Participants stopped the injections and received either daily orforglipron or placebo for one year in the double-blind trial. Those taking orforglipron kept more than 70 percent of their earlier weight loss off after one year, while participants taking placebo kept around 38-50 percent of their earlier weight loss off.

Orforglipron is a daily tablet already available in the US and could soon launch in the UK.

In the US, orforglipron costs around $149 per month for the lowest dose. Some GLP-1 injections cost over $1,000 per month in the US. It is not known how much orforglipron would cost in the UK. President Donald Trump has announced deals that aim to lower the cost of popular weight-loss drugs.

Novo Nordisk has an oral version of its injectable GLP-1 drug Wegovy. Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy has been approved in the US. A UK decision on Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy is pending. Side effects of orforglipron were common but mostly mild and included nausea, constipation or diarrhoea.

Dr Simon Cork from Anglia Ruskin University described the research as a "really important study" that addresses a key limitation with injectable GLP-1 based weight loss medications. "What is also important to note is that the decrease in blood pressure, lipids and blood glucose were also maintained in those patients taking oral medications," he added.

Dr Marie Spreckley, an expert in weight management research at the University of Cambridge who was not involved in the study, said swallowing a pill might be more attractive to patients than having to inject themselves. She added that the study reinforces the growing recognition that obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease that often requires ongoing treatment and support.

More research is needed to find out how long someone might need to stay on treatment.

Orforglipron works similarly to obesity jabs by mimicking a natural hormone that reduces appetite and makes you feel more full for longer.