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Eli Lilly reported promising results from a study of its experimental oral drug that could rival popular injections to treat obesity and diabetes.
April 17, 2025, 5:24 p.m. ET
Encouraging clinical trial results announced on Thursday stand to open up a huge market for a convenient daily pill to treat obesity and diabetes.
The experimental drug, developed by Eli Lilly and known as orforglipron, is a type of medication known as a GLP-1. Drugs in this class like Wegovy have become hugely popular because they help people lose weight.
But those drugs must be given as weekly injections, which has limited their use. If orforglipron can deliver similar results in an easy-to-take pill form, as the study suggested it could, it has the potential to reach many more patients and become a major blockbuster.
Here’s what to know about Eli Lilly’s pill, which still must go through a review process by the Food and Drug Administration to be approved for sale.
When will the pill become available?
Eli Lilly said that it planned to seek regulatory approval to market the drug for weight loss later this year, and early next year for diabetes. The F.DA. could take months and possibly longer to review the company’s trial data before making a decision.
Wall Street analysts said that if all went smoothly, orforglipron could become available in the United States sometime in the second half of next year.
