"The extent of weight loss observed with elecoglipron in this study is broadly comparable to the results reported with other oral GLP-1 receptor agonists," summarizes this intermediate-phase study published in the specialist journal The Lancet.
Elecoglipron administered orally once a day "presented a compliant safety and tolerance profile" to this class of drugs which cause dramatic weight loss and reduce appetite, adds the randomized study conducted with 310 participants.
"Larger and longer phase 3 trials will be needed."
These results justify "the continuation of its development" and conducting a trial with a large number of patients "to confirm the extent of long-term weight loss" and its safety before an application for marketing authorization, the study adds.
In obese or overweight adults without diabetes, this drug caused "Average weight reductions of up to 10.51 TP3T at 26 weeks and 11.81 TP3T at 36 weeks in the group receiving the highest dose", underlines Dr. Marie Spreckley, a researcher specializing in obesity at the University of Cambridge.
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"Larger and longer phase 3 trials will therefore be needed to confirm the durability of these effects, establish longer-term safety and tolerability, and determine the place of this treatment within the growing range of treatments for obesity and diabetes."she added.
Tablet versions are more convenient than subcutaneous injections.
Success would mark AstraZeneca's entry into this coveted market. The two industry leaders – Denmark's Novo Nordisk and the US's Eli Lilly – have already developed tablet versions of their GLP-1 inhibitors, which are more convenient than subcutaneous injections.
The Mounjaro formulation (orforglipron from Eli Lilly) was approved in April in the United States, where it is currently marketed under the name Foundayo. The tablet formulation of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy is available in the United States and was approved by the European Union health authorities in May.
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