Eli Lilly says its anti-obesity pill matches Ozempic

New Delhi: Eli Lilly said on Saturday that its anti-obesity pill, Orforglipron, has shown significant results during clinical trials in reducing weight and lowering blood sugar in diabetes patients, comparable to Novo Nordisk's anti-diabetes drug Ozempic.

The US drug maker aims to submit the Phase-III trial data to regulators by the end of this year and expects to get regulatory approvals from 2026, it said. The results were announced at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Eli Lilly also makes blockbuster drug Tirzepatide for type-2 diabetes under the Mounjaro brand and chronic weight management under the brand Zepbound. Both are administered via injection.


Orforglipron as well as Tirzepatide are GLP-1 drugs, which mimic a natural gut hormone that controls sugar levels and appetite.

The 40-week trial of the new pill tested three doses of Orforglipron: 3 milligrams, 12 milligrams and 36 milligrams. All were found to be effective at lowering blood sugar, the company said.

The 12 mg and 36 mg doses also showed clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions in body weight compared to a placebo, the company said. The 36 mg dose led to an average weight loss of 7.9% over 40 weeks.