Patients don’t regain much weight switching from injections to Lilly’s weight-loss pill, study finds

By Chris Prentice

NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly said on Tuesday that patients in a late-stage trial who had been taking an injectable GLP-1 medication for over a year did not regain significant weight after switching to its new weight-loss pill Foundayo.

People who switched from Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy to Lilly’s oral Foundayo regained an average of 2 pounds (0.9 kg) after a year, according to study results presented at an obesity conference. Patients who switched to Foundayo from Lilly’s own more potent injectable Zepbound regained an average of 11 pounds (5 kg).

Lilly introduced its new oral medication, a competitor to Danish drugmaker Novo’s Wegovy pill, in the U.S. market in early April, as the Indianapolis-based drugmaker continues to push its big bet on obesity and diabetes medications from a drug class known as GLP-1s.

Analysts have forecast sales of weight-loss medications reaching over $100 billion a year in the next decade.

During the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Lilly said the trial demonstrates that patients can make a switch and still keep most of the weight off, a particular concern with stopping GLP-1 injections.

“If you’re a patient on Wegovy, you can switch from a GLP-1 injectable to a GLP-1 pill and basically keep all the weight off,” Kenneth Custer, Eli Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, said in an interview. “Patients now have options.”

The study looked at patients switching to Foundayo, known chemically as orforglipron, after 72 weeks of losing weight on Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, or injectable semaglutide, Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic.

STUDY DATA

At 52 weeks after the switch, prior tirzepatide users had maintained 74.7% of body weight reduction with orforglipron, compared with 49.2% for those who received a placebo.

Previous semaglutide users had maintained 79.3% of body weight reduction with orforglipron, compared with 37.6% for the placebo group.

Novo launched injectable Wegovy in 2021 and the pill version earlier this year. The pills have been expected to open the class of drugs to new patients, including those opposed to using needles.

Asked about weight regained when switching to Foundayo from Zepbound, Custer said it was to be expected given the extent of weight loss with the Lilly injectable.

Zepbound has been shown in trials to produce weight loss of about 20% or more.

ZEPBOUND TRIAL

In a separate late-stage trial, participants who stayed on the maximum dose of Zepbound continued to see weight loss after another year of maintenance use, while those who moved to a lower 5-milligram dosage regained about 12 pounds.

“The study showed us two things. If you want to maintain every ounce of weight you lost on a drug like Zepbound, you should probably stay on that dose of Zepbound,” Custer said.

“But if you want to consider reducing your dose, you can do that. You’ll regain a little bit of weight, but you’ll still maintain most of your weight loss,” he said.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New YorkEditing by Bill Berkrot)