Lilly's orforglipron consistent with injectable GLP-1 medicines in Phase 3 trial

According to an official statement from Eli Lilly and Company, "Orforglipron is the first oral small-molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, taken without food and water restrictions, to successfully complete a Phase 3 trial."

"If approved, the company is confident in its ability to launch orforglipron worldwide without supply constraints, " it said.

This would further Lilly's mission to reduce chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, which is expected to impact an estimated 760 million adults by 2050.

"ACHIEVE-1 is the first of seven Phase 3 studies examining the safety and efficacy of orforglipron across people with diabetes and obesity. We are pleased to see that our latest incretin medicine meets our expectations for safety and tolerability, glucose control and weight loss, and we look forward to additional data readouts later this year," said David A. Ricks, Lilly's chair and CEO.

"As a convenient once-daily pill, orforglipron may provide a new option and, if approved, could be readily manufactured and launched at scale for use by people around the world."

Orforglipron (or-for-GLIP-ron) is an investigational, once-daily small molecule (non-peptide) oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist that can be taken any time of the day without restrictions on food and water intake.

Orforglipron was discovered by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and licensed by Lilly in 2018. Chugai and Lilly published the preclinical pharmacology data of this molecule together.

Lilly is running Phase 3 studies on orforglipron for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related medical problem.

It is also being studied as a potential treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension in adults with obesity.