AstraZeneca obesity pill shows 10.5% weight loss in phase 2

AstraZeneca has released detailed mid-stage trial results for its experimental once-daily obesity pill, elecoglipron, positioning the British pharmaceutical company as a potential new competitor in the lucrative weight-loss drug market. The data, presented on Monday at the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans and published in The Lancet, showed patients receiving the highest dose lost an average of 10.5% of their body weight after 26 weeks, with weight loss continuing to 11.8% at 36 weeks.

The results compare favorably with other oral GLP-1 treatments in development. Eli Lilly’s recently approved oral therapy, Foundayo, demonstrated weight reductions of 8.6% to 12.6% over 26 weeks in late-stage trials. The absence of a weight-loss plateau in AstraZeneca’s 36-week study is seen as a potentially meaningful differentiator. The phase 2 trial, which involved 310 participants with obesity or overweight, met its primary endpoints, with up to 88.8% of patients on the high dose achieving at least 5% weight loss.

Sharon Barr, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research and development, said the findings demonstrate a competitive profile for...