Is an ‘ozempic pill’ the future of weight loss medications?

Late-stage study results published June 25 in _The Lancet_ found that participants who took a semaglutide pill lost, on average, 15 percent of their body weight over a 68-week period,

compared to 2.4 percent in the placebo group. Thirty-four percent of study participants who took the pill lost 20 percent of their body weight. A lower-dose semaglutide pill is currently

available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The higher-dose version under investigation is being studied for both type 2 diabetes and weight loss management.  Other GLP-1 pills are also

in the works. Eli Lilly’s orforglipron helped study participants who were overweight (defined as a BMI of 25 to 29.9) or who had obesity cut up to 14.7 percent of their body weight, on

average, after 36 weeks in a phase 2 trial. The results were published June 23 in the _New England Journal of Medicine_. And Pfizer’s danuglipron, yet another GLP-1 agonist being

researched, was found in a phase 2 clinical trial to help participants with type 2 diabetes lose weight and lower blood sugar levels in the first 16 weeks, according to research published 

in _JAMA Network Open_. Slightly different from the GLP-1 pills but equally as buzzworthy is an investigational medication called retatrutide. In another set of trial results, also reported

at the 2023 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, researchers found that study participants with obesity lost more than 24 percent of their starting body weight (an average of

60 pounds) in a 48-week period when taking the highest dose of retatrutide. All of the participants taking the pill lost at least 5 percent of their total body weight in the trial. The phase

2 results were published June 26 in the_ New England Journal of Medicine._ The study’s authors note that participants taking the medication were continuing to lose weight at the end of the

trial, and researchers “speculate that greater weight reductions may be observed in the longer-duration phase 3 trial.” While some people may prefer a weekly injection, Chetna Bakshi, M.D.,

a bariatric surgeon at Northwell Health’s Syosset Hospital in New York, says adding a pill to the mix could “offer more options for those patients who are unable to do the injections.”  It

could also be a good option for people who travel often, since the injectable medications have to be refrigerated. “A pill is very easy to take with you, so it definitely allows for more

options for patients,” Bakshi says.  MORE MEDICATIONS COULD IMPROVE ACCESS