Eli Lilly Commences Clinical Trials For its Weight-loss Pill

Eli Lilly, a US pharmaceutical company, has begun phase three clinical trials in India for an oral medication known as orforglipron. The company has begun clinical trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of orforglipron compared to insulin glargine in persons with type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight who are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

"As part of the global development, we have several ongoing clinical studies across different sites in India, some of them focusing on novel products, including the oral nonpeptide GLP-1 receptor agonist," the company's spokesperson in India said.

The studies of orforglipron have begun at 12 sites in India, with a sample size of 120 people, according to India's clinical trial registry.

Eli Lilly's phase-two clinical trials released last year found that orforglipron given once daily induced weight loss at levels comparable to current injectable medications such as Wegovy (semaglutide) and Saxenda (liraglutide), both supplied by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk.

Surprisingly, in 2022, Novo Nordisk introduced Rybelsus, an oral version of semaglutide, in India for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. While Rybelsus helps diabetics lose weight, injectable alternatives such as Ozempic/Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro/Zepbound produce considerably greater outcomes. But these injections are not yet offered in India and are undergoing various rounds of clinical testing and regulatory approval.

In the previous month, Eli Lilly's CEO, David Ricks, expressed hope for a breakthrough with its oral medicine. He noted that orforglipron is currently conducting worldwide phase-three clinical trials, which are expected to be completed next year.