US regulators approve Wegovy pill, first oral medication to treat obesity

"US regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. The US Food and Drug Administration's approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly's oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review. Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness."

"In recent years, Novo Nordisk's injectable Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound have revolutionized obesity treatment globally and in the US, where 100 million people have the chronic disease. The Wegovy pills are expected to be available within weeks, company officials said. Availability of oral pills to treat obesity could expand the booming market for obesity treatments by broadening access and reducing costs, experts said. About one in eight Americans have used injectable GLP-1 drugs, according to a survey from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group."

"The Novo Nordisk obesity pill contains 25mg of semaglutide. That's the same ingredient in injectables Wegovy and Ozempic and in Rybelsus, a lower-dose pill approved to treat diabetes in 2019. In a clinical trial, participants who took oral Wegovy lost 13.6% of their total body weight on average over about 15 months, compared with a 2.2% loss if they took a placebo, or dummy pill. That's nearly the same as injectable Wegovy, with an average weight loss of about 15%."

The US Food and Drug Administration approved an oral version of Wegovy, the first daily pill to treat obesity. The pill contains 25 mg of semaglutide, the same active ingredient in injectables Wegovy and Ozempic and in Rybelsus. In a clinical trial, participants taking oral Wegovy lost 13.6% of total body weight on average over about 15 months versus 2.2% for placebo, nearly matching injectable Wegovy's average loss of about 15%. The approval gives Novo Nordisk a commercial edge while Eli Lilly's oral candidate remains under review. Oral availability could broaden access, lower costs, and expand the obesity-treatment market.

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