A new oral weight loss medication by Eli Lilly, Orforglipron, showed promising results in a phase 2 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2023. The highest dose of the drug resulted in approximately 15% weight loss after 36 weeks for people who were obese or overweight. Lilly has begun stage 3 research, and believes the drug could receive FDA approval as early as next year. In preparation, Eli Lilly is stockpiling massive quantities of this oral weight-loss drug, with total “pre-launch inventory” of nearly $550 million. Patrik Jonsson, Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, told Forbes in an interview “This could potentially be game-changing when it comes to reaching more patients across the globe”. Orforglipron would not require cold-chain storage and the oral medication is less complicated to manufacturer and administer than an injectable GLP-1 agonist.
