FDA Approves Oral Wegovy for Obesity Treatment

U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the popular weight loss drug Wegovy on Monday, marking the first daily oral medication specifically for treating obesity. The Food and Drug Administration's decision gives Novo Nordisk a competitive advantage over rival Eli Lilly, whose similar oral drug, orforglipron, remains under review with a potential approval expected by spring.

The new Wegovy pill contains 25 milligrams of semaglutide, the active ingredient also found in the company's injectable Wegovy, Ozempic for diabetes, and a lower-dose oral diabetes pill called Rybelsus approved in 2019. Like other GLP-1 drugs, it mimics a natural hormone that regulates appetite and promotes feelings of fullness. In recent years, injectable versions of Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound have transformed obesity care worldwide and in the United States, where about 100 million adults live with the chronic condition.

Company officials said the pills will become available within weeks, possibly as early as January, following preparations to avoid the shortages that plagued the injectable Wegovy upon its launch. In a phase 3 clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine,...