A new daily pill may help individuals maintain weight loss after completing injection treatments, according to a study. Researchers suggest that switching to orforglipron offers an effective approach for sustaining weight loss, particularly for those who do not wish to continue with jabs. The drug is also noted to be significantly cheaper to manufacture than current options like Wegovy and Mounjaro.
How Orforglipron Works
Orforglipron, a GLP-1 agonist, works by lowering blood sugar levels, slowing food digestion, and reducing appetite. Unlike injectable medications, it is taken once daily as a tablet. The drug, manufactured by Eli Lily, is not yet licensed in the UK but was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration last month.
Study Details
The trial involved 376 people in the US who had already been on tirzepatide or semaglutide—used for weight loss on the NHS under the brand names Mounjaro and Wegovy—for 72 weeks. Over the course of a year, patients either took orforglipron daily or a placebo.
Researchers found that among those who had been on tirzepatide, patients who moved onto orforglipron maintained 74.7% of their weight loss after a year, compared with 49.2% taking the placebo. Similarly, 79.3% of former semaglutide users maintained their weight loss, compared to 37.6% in the placebo group.
Expert Reactions
Previous studies have shown that people on weight loss jabs are likely to regain weight. Researchers suggest that transitioning to orforglipron may be an effective approach for maintaining weight loss for those who do not continue injectable therapy.
Dr Marie Spreckley, research programme manager at the University of Cambridge, commented: "One of the most valuable aspects of this study is that it reflects a highly realistic clinical scenario. Many people do not want to remain on injectable therapy indefinitely due to treatment burden, convenience, travel, storage requirements, cost, or personal preference. The possibility of transitioning to an oral therapy while maintaining a substantial proportion of previously achieved weight reduction could represent an important additional option within longer-term obesity care pathways."
Dr Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, highlighted that while injectable drugs lead to greater weight loss, they are expensive. "This limits their long-term applicability both for private purchasers and the NHS," he said. "Newer, oral medications are significantly cheaper to manufacture, but do not tend to produce the same level of weight loss seen with injectable medications."
Dr Cork added that more research is needed with larger patient groups, but the findings point to a potential future for how obesity is treated and how weight loss success can be maintained.
