New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% weight loss in 36 weeks

An experimental GLP-1 pill helped people with obesity or overweight lose as much as 12.1% of their body weight in just 36 weeks. Unlike injectable drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, aleniglipron is a small molecule that can be taken once daily with or without food and could potentially be produced more easily at scale.

sciencedaily.com ·1h ago

A recent clinical trial published in Nature Medicine revealed that a new oral GLP-1 treatment, aleniglipron, led to up to 12% weight loss in adults with obesity or overweight over 36 weeks. Unlike existing injectable GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), aleniglipron is a small-molecule oral medication that could potentially be easier to manufacture and administer.

In the placebo-controlled trial, researchers assessed the safety of aleniglipron in 230 adults at 38 U.S. medical centers, with participants randomly assigned to 45, 90, or 120 milligram doses. By the end of the study, the 45 mg group lost 9%, the 90 mg group lost 10.7%, and the 120 mg group lost 12.1% of their body weight compared to a -0.5% change in the placebo group.

Gastrointestinal side effects were generally mild and decreased over time, with 10.4% of participants discontinuing treatment and no drug-induced liver injury reported. The study's lead author, Robert Kushner, emphasized the potential benefits of aleniglipron's oral form and its suitability for large-scale production.

Written by urgent.news from ScienceDaily Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.