(WXYZ) — In today’s Health Alert, losing weight could soon be as easy as popping a pill every day. Drugmakers are working to come up with oral versions of the popular injectable drugs that treat obesity.
That’s right. More than 40 percent of Americans are considered obese.
Popular weight loss drugs like Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy have been very effective, but they are administered as weekly injections. That can be challenging for people who are afraid of needles.
So, now drug companies are conducting clinical trials on oral versions of these drugs. Results from two of those trials were presented over the weekend at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, presented its findings from a phase three clinical trial for an oral version of semaglutide. That’s the active ingredient in the weight loss drugs. Participants lost an average of 15 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks. These results are consistent with the weight loss experienced by people who received a weekly injection of the medication over the same time period.
Eli Lilly also presented results from a phase two clinical trial on its oral weight loss drug. Participants lost an average of 9-point-4 percent to 14-point-7 percent of their body weight after 36 weeks.
Exciting news, right? Experts believe a daily pill would be much easier for some patients to stomach rather than the weekly injections. After all, most people are used to taking vitamins or some other tablet on a daily basis.
Well, some experts are wondering if the side effects from an oral weight loss drug may be more severe than what’s seen with the injectable version.
However, Novo Nordisk says the oral version was well-tolerated in the trial, and the most common side effect was nausea, just like in the injectable drug. About 80 percent of people who got the oral version reported gastrointestinal problems, compared to 46 percent of the people who received the placebo.
The company says it will file for approval from the Food and Drug Administration sometime this year. But we’re not expecting to see a weight loss pill on the market in 2023.
So, the bottom line is these oral weight loss drugs will provide people with more options. They can talk it over with their healthcare provider to determine the best choice for reaching their goals of losing weight and improving their overall health.
